


The Monsters of Remnant

by Shaevira



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Earth Remnant, F/F, F/M, Fluffy at times, Freezerburn - Freeform, M/M, Monsters, No Grimm, No self-made weapons, No super use of dust, Short-lived M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 10:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 55,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6076782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaevira/pseuds/Shaevira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody chooses how they were born. Destiny is destiny, isn't it? It's especially cruel when you're turned into something you're not, not by your own will but by someone else's. Modern/Fantasy AU. Eventual Freezerburn and a slight taste of other ships.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - The Beginning

 

 

 

_**Prologue** _

From the day we are born we are malleable, we are meant to be shaped and formed into who we are. Some of us learn from at a young age, that we will never be who we envision ourselves to be. Yet there is a small glimmer of hope, of those who become doctors, lawyers, officers and jobs of the likes. Heroes. Of the everyday lifestyle. We all wish to become something greater, something more powerful than what we could ever imagine.

But some, some fall short. Not all metal is good metal. But are they to blame? From the forge they are shaped and we can only blame the blacksmith for his shoddy work, can we not? That's why they say that not all monsters are born that way, but instead, monsters are made that way.

We see monsters in the mentality sort of sense. Most of which are criminals. What would you picture a criminal as? Burly? Rough? Slender? Any negative synonym in which you see put is what you imagine in regards to criminal - or maybe monstrous.

Now what if these monsters had a different, lets say, physical sense. These monsters, my friends, are real. As we enter the world of Remnant, we see that this once modern life in a humble and peaceful world is now turned into one of confusion and chaos.

Not only for the humans, but, for the monsters themselves.

* * *

**[[The Beginning / Six months ago / Somewhere in Mistral]]**

_I'd wish they'd cut it out. I'm sick and tired of it. The harassment. The cruelty. Why? Why?_

The boy was quickly thrown out of his thoughts as he was tossed up against the lockers for the umpteenth time. He was rather meek boy, slim figure, with a rather quaint look about him. "I've got nothing for you. Can't you just leave me alone?" his voice was rather quiet, but that couldn't be helped, being noticed or loud just wasn't for him.

The two bigger boys who had pinned him up against the lockers looked at each other with a mischievous grin. "Oh, we know." said the rather rough faced blonde boy. "But we've got something for you!" said the other boy.

"I hope it's freedom." the small boy mumbled to himself, with a small sigh. Only to be pushed up against the lockers harder.

"Are you getting smart with us, fucker?" the blonde boy pushed him up against the locker again. The small boy looked around, hoping for some kind of sign or at least a teacher. Then again, it was class time. The smaller boy was just making a run to the restroom only to return and be blocked by these two hooligans, who, were notorious for 'crimes'. Them being football players, let them off the hook of any severe punishment.

"N-no! Can you let me go please…I need to get to class." his voice was still rather small, and this time a little bit more shaky.

"Aww, is the little baby gonna cry?" the other boy taunted, now flicking his nose - causing the smaller boy to flinch.

The smaller boy recoiled as best as he could, fully knowing what was to come next. It was the same to him every time, whenever he was caught by these two. The only mercy he would find was when the janitor would make his rounds, unlocking him from his prison around two to three hours later.

"Well too bad! Baby is gonna have to cry in his playpen!" the two boys opened up a locker and stuffed the smaller boy inside of it.

The smaller boy knew it was futile to fight back. So he accepted his fate and just let himself be handled in such a manner.

The locker itself was somewhat spacious, almost like you could fit a weapon - or well, a person in there. The smaller boy didn't understand why they were that big. Maybe it was so the bullies could win. As the locker door was shut on him he heard the boys banging on the locker and walked away laughing, and celebrating their victory over their prey.

The boy sighed. "I'm so tired of this…" he mumbled, now landing a fist on the side of the locker. "Every week it's the same damn thing." once more his hand banged against the locker.

He tilted his head downwards, in defeat. Momentarily he closed his eyes to take a deep breath, then opened them.

_Not again!_

He noted the light glow coming from his left foot. He had remembered when this oddity had started, a faint glow appeared to his left foot out of nowhere two weeks ago. He had been able to hide it seeing as the light itself was very, very dim. Now, it was starting to grow brighter.

"No, no!" there was a break in his voice. He was tired of being shamed for who he was. Or, who people thought he was. "I'm already a freak to them. I don't need this weird freakin' light show on my body!" he banged both of his hands on the door of the locker. "Just let me out!" he now yelled loudly, fully knowing that his pleas would not be heard.

He was trapped. Inside his mind, inside of this locker. He could feel the anxiety within him rising, a small rumbling in his stomach. He needed to stop, but the boy couldn't calm himself. "Auughhh!" he rammed his shoulder to the sides of the lockers.

"I'm tired of being everyone's joke!" he rammed the other side of the locker with his shoulder, breathing heavily.

"I'm tired of being everyone's freak!" he repeated the motion, going back and forth now as he spoke.

"Who cares who I choose to like? Why do I deserve this?" he yelled out. His whole body began to transform. He could feel himself growing larger, and larger until he had broken out of the locker and in fact, the school as well.

"I don't deserve this!" he raged out, now as he was fully grown into a 30 foot monster. His body was covered in coarse fur. His hand were replaced with claws, that were scaly and and sharp. His eyes were white, and his face was that similar of a bear, with reptilian features. He had ears that resembled a foxes and his feet were primate like. All of these new and odd feature had grown out of him, but one feature still remained, his glowing left foot.

He now looked down at part of the shattered school building below him. There was a small crowd of students who had ran out after the 'earthquake' that were at his feet. Some were fleeing, others stood and watched curiously.

"What are you looking at?" he roared out, but instead he could not be understood by the humans. "I've been a freak to you before, and look at me now! Just because I like who I like, just because I act how I do! Now this?!" once more a rather loud and menacing roar emitted from him. What made sense to him, was complete gibberish to the now full fleeing crowd.

He jumped and landed in the school's parking lot. He quickly located one of the boys trucks who had bullied him. With one quick punch, he smashed the car. "I'm sick and tired of being laughed at!" he smashed the ground in front of him, which caused a small fissure in the earth. His strength was currently immeasurable. Is this what the boy had wanted? Power? Or was it something more, beyond his control?

He watched as some of the crowd, the ones that were running towards their cars now turned the other way in terror.

He carefully scanned the crowd and found his two targets, who were pushing and shoving their way through the crowd, knocking down several people in their paths. With his claws his shoved one finger through the blonde boys stomach, while doing the same to the partner in crime. He brought them up to his face and snarled. The two boys were semi-conscious, blood pouring from their gashes that the monster had made.

"You!" he snarled in his language. "You were the ones who made me like this. Now I will make you suffer the pain that I have endured from you two for so long!" with a flick of his fingers the two boys slid from his claws and down onto the ground. There they laid with open stomach wounds, unable to move.

But the monster had been too busy with his revenge to notice that he was now surrounded by the Mistral guard. A trained and elite unite created for the nation. Their uniform was a light blue mixture with black. Their helmets resembled those of motorcyclists, with winged edges on the side. They held weapons strong enough to take down the biggest of mammals, or the most hardened criminals.

The monster turned to face the elite squad, there was a small hoard of them. "You're here, to save them? Why didn't you even try to save me?" as soon as he had roared the unheard words the squad had begun to fire and his head and torso. He quickly covered his face with an arm, to try and block the bullets, but he was not one to go down so easily. Yet, the monster himself was surprised to see that the bullets had no effect on his upper body.

He roared once more, this time and actually and legitimate roar with no real meaning behind the action.

* * *

**[[Mistral Elite Units]]**

"Nothings working." squad unit ME04 had said over the inbuilt intercom system that was in the helmets. The Monster had seemed to grow irritated and started to aimlessly swat around as they fired at him.

"Maybe we're not aiming in the right spot. Look at his foot." ME05 retorted.

"Glowing. So what?" ME01 added.

"Use your head. We haven't hit him once there and there is a literal open target on his foot that we have not tried." ME05 scoffed out and began to open fire at the monsters left foot.

The monster recoiled and let out a painful sounding scream.

The rest of the unit began to show causing the monster back up, and eventually fall over on the ground. He tried his damned hardest to cover his foot, but he began to weaken.

"Severe the foot." ME05 commanded. "Bring out the bigger guns." he had smirked to himself.

ME02 and 01 nodded and ran towards the flyer the had come in, and had pulled out a rather large rocket launcher that required two users. They set up the launcher about 150 yards from the monster. With a quick load up they nodded towards each other. "We're ready to fire." ME02 commented.

"We're all clear here. Fire at will." ME05 watched from a distance as the rockets soon fired at the monsters open foot. The foot itself, exploded, and with that the monster himself had let out a pain filled scream and disappeared into nothingness.

The squad celebrated their well earned victory. "Good work squad." ME05 commented confidently.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Mr. Torchwick." ME01 had happily commented.

"Soldier, we are on the field. I'm still ME05." his voice sounded a little irritated. It was always the newbies that flubbed everything up. Luckily, Torchwick was the commander of his unit. 5 being the highest ranking, while 1 being the lowest.

"Let's call this in. We might have to watch out for more of this. Alert the other nations. We don't know what this is or why it happened, but this will get out." Torchwick stated. "The media will find a way to broadcast this everywhere." Torchwick and his group holstered their weapons and he began to speak. "Our job is to make sure that this does not happen again and that we will be there and be the ones to stop it. At whatever cost." he motioned his group towards the flyer.

"ME03, take control of the ship. I have to call in with the Head." Torchwick removed his helmet and shook his head. His light red hair swayed frantically as he shook it. He was rather young, no older than 27 yet no younger than 22. He was the youngest of all the commanders of each nation, which meant he held a lot more power than most people his age.

He walked towards a very specific and enclosed room in the flyer. He closed the door behind him and shut off all the lights. He quickly typed in several numbers and turned away from the door. A bright light appeared as a holographic figure now appeared before him.

"Roman." the feminine voice said. "It's always nice to see our youngest prodigy in action. How was the mission?"

"A success." he commented, and nodded.

"Good, good. Just what I like to hear. Now, what was this about a Monster? This isn't a fairytale, Roman. Monsters don't exist, not like this at least." her voice hinted at disbelief.

"I took a picture of this." Roman laid his scroll against an open port on the keypad. Immediately an image was transferred to the woman.

"What is this supposed to be? A mixture of manbearpig, cthulhu, and big foot?" she chuckled, still with a hint of incredulousness.

"Just wait a couple hours. You'll see it's no joke soon enough."

"All right. Make sure you all debrief afterwards." her holographic hand swayed around.

"I always do, Ma'am." he nodded.

"See you soon, Roman." the hologram disappeared into the nothingness - as did the monster

"Over and out." he clicked around on the keypad several times, the lights turned themselves back on and he removed his scroll from the port. The door opened behind him and he walked out. He was greeted by his teammates, all who have removed their helmets. They were a rather young crew, but special they all were. ME01, the newest member had been picked up a few months ago. Young, tall, and specialized with chainsaws. ME02, another young blood, who had lost his legs in a rock climbing accident. ME03 a mute girl, but who was quickly rising up the ranks - and was one of Roman's personal favorites. ME04 was a quick, and witty girl. Though at times she seemed rather out of place.

Roman took the seat of co-pilot, and looked at ME03, Neo. Who gave him a small grin. He returned the grin with one of his own. "Get us home, Neo." she merely nodded as the flyer was already in cruise mode, she set it into flight mode and zoomed away towards their base.

* * *

**[[ Weiss Schnee / Six months ago / Atlas ]]**

"…With the following reports that this mons…" _Ugh, okay._

"A record 30 feet tall, was this the work of…" _Okay, seriously?_

"Two teenagers were fatally injured…" Click.

Weiss sighed and turned off the T.V, there was nothing but news reports of this monster. Badly taken photos and videos of this chaotic mess was spewed all over the networks. It was a big deal. One that Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company should hardly care about. Her father owned the biggest and most industrious company for the greatest fuel on earth - Dust. It was used for a magnitude of things. Electricity, Heating, it could even be molded into a use for basic vehicle fuel. That's how valuable dust was. But Weiss could've cared less about her father's company - and was more concerned with finding her own path and this one…this one seemed interesting.

"What are you moping about now, princess?" a male voice asked, she turned and noted Jaune and Pyrrha who had invited themselves all willy-nilly into her house - or, well mansion. Though, it was no surprise, Pyrrha and Jaune were there. They were her two best friends after all. Jaune hopped the couch and took a seat next to Weiss, while Pyrrha did the same but in a more civilized manner as she walked around to sit down.

"Have you heard the news?" she breathed out, as she now straightened herself out on the couch.

"Who hasn't?" Pyrrha lightly chuckled, as she took the seat on the other side of Weiss. "I hardly believe it myself."

"Yeah and I thought me being friends with a billionaire was the craziest thing that could happen in this life." Jaune jested. "But now they're are monsters, we have to deal with?" Jaune grinned - always trying his hardest to impress and have fun with Weiss.

Pyrrha chuckled, while Weiss just rolled her eyes.

"We don't have to deal with anything." Weiss said. "I'm just hoping that there's not like…" she paused on the moment, fully knowing she'll probably sound a bit silly with what she was about to say "some weird monster apocalypse".

"What's the worry?" Pyrrha asked. "If anything this could potentially increase the need for dust, causing an increase in pricing for you. The rich getting richer."

"But, I'm not about the money Pyrrha."

"You're about the people." they all said in unison. "We know." Jaune and Pyrrha added.

Pyrrha and Jaune chuckled - while Weiss made a displeased looking face.

"Two innocent teenagers were killed!" Weiss crossed her arms, in a princess like pout fashion.

"Yeah, but they killed whatever that thing was in return. Their deaths were avenged." Jaune added.

"That's not good enough. This…whatever could've been avoided. Where did the monster come from? Why did it target just THOSE two kids? From what we've seen it didn't even try to attack the Elite guards from Mistral." Weiss had a certain intrigue in her voice as she continued to talk. "I was also browsing these certain like…forums and well, someone confirmed that another boy had gone missing from class that day. What happened to him? There were apparently no other serious casualties from that event. So where did he go?" Weiss took a deep breath as she finally came to a slow in her thoughts, she then proceeded to slouch against the rather expensive couch.

"Look, Weiss I don't think we'll ever really know. Besides…this was only one random occurrence. I doubt that it'll happen again." Jaune rested his arm over the couch, in a nonchalant manner.

Weiss moaned a rather loud moan of disapproval and stood up immediately as Jaune maneuvered his arm.

"Not good enough!" she lightly stomped her way towards the kitchen and grabbed her keys.

The other two stood up, looking at each other and shrugged. "Where are we going?" Pyrrha asked as the two of them followed behind the much shorter, and more intimidating girl.

"Library." Weiss simply stated. "Research."

"But I'm hungry!" Jaune whined out.

* * *

**[[ Yang Xiao Long / Six Months Ago (several days after the incident) / Patch ]]**

"Awwh, man. Nothing good's on T.V." Ruby complained.

"Well, why don't you get off your lazy bum and go enjoy the outdoors?" Yang suggested. "Or more like, come with me to town because I'm really hungry and it's lunch time!" she grinned as she had blurted out the last part of her sentence in a particularly fast manner.

"But Yaaaaang…" moped Ruby.

"The only butt I want is one that is going to get off the couch!" she grinned, proud at her attempt of a really bad joke.

Ruby snorted and stood up. "The news was saying some funny stuff today!"

"Oh yeah, Rubes?" Yang gestured towards the door, their house was rather small. A small rural house, with lots of land that offered more amount of freedom than the girls knew what to do with. Patch was a decently sized island. The big city of Signal was miles upon miles in the distance. It was their only 'real' get away.

"Yeah, there was apparently some sort of monster attack a few days ago. We always get the last of the news." Ruby walked with Yang towards the driveway, where Yang's trusty motorcycle - Bumblebee, was to come in handy.

"Mm..Monsters you say? Ruby, how many cookies have you had today?" she teased as she handed Ruby a helmet.

"Hey! I've only had…like three…" she muttered. "But that's not enough to make me crazy or anything!" she defended herself with a pout and a not-so-menacing glare.

"Uh-huh." she flipped her long golden locks over her and put the helmet on and hopped on the bike. She turned around and looked at Ruby, patting the seat behind her.

Ruby sighed and put on her own helmet and hopped on behind Yang, now clutching her. Yang revved up the bike and made a sharp turn in the driveway, now speeding off on the paved roads. The roadway to and from her house was empty most of the time - it was when the arrived on the interstate that things got busy. But Ruby trusted her sister, she knew how well Yang and Bumblebee got along. Yang skillfully zigged and zagged through the traffic, making sure to keep her younger half-sibling out of harm's way.

In about 30 - 45 minutes Yang and her sister had made it to the city. She slowed her motorcycle down, obeying the speed limits as best as she could. She drove around town now finding her particular hangout spot. She pulled into the parking lot and parked herself into one of the motorcycle parking spaces.

The Ember Celica.

"Yang! We've been here just about every week!" Ruby commented as the bike came to a stop. The two girls hopped off the bike, pulling off their helmets. Miraculously, Yang's hair was in perfect condition, while Ruby's was a bit messy. Both of them shook their heads and straightened out their hair, regardless.

"Yeah, but their burgers really pack a punch!" Yang's grinned "Plus, everyone here knows me so, hey, discount!" she made pretend guns at Ruby and clicked her tongue.

The two chuckled and walked their way in the restaurant - well, more like a sports bar. As soon as Yang walked in she was immediately greeted by the staff and several bar goers, who had raised a glass at her arrival.

"Yo, Yang!" one patron ran up to Yang. "Can I get an autograph? My brother who lives around Vale doesn't believe that I know you, the Great Fire Dragon of Patch." he grinned, "The greatest MMA fighter to come from this small place."

"And just about the only." Yang added. "How about something better? A selfie!" she suggested.

The man pulled out his scroll and handed it to Yang, he positioned himself next to Yang which he showed just how tall and fit Yang actually was compared to an average male. "Say Ember Celica!" she grinned and the man and Yang repeated the name with a grin as the scroll clicked indicating a selfie had been taken. "Send this to him, I'll bet he'll freak out." she chuckled.

Yang and Ruby continued through the restaurant, nodding and familiar faces, until they came upon a booth that had only one occupant, a man named Junior. They seated themselves across from him.

"How's the champ?" Junior leaned back in the booth.

"Hungry." Yang answered.

"How about you little Red?" he turned his attention to Ruby.

"Ahh, I'm all right. I'm more concerned about what's going on in the news."

"That's still on your mind, Ruby? It's make believe. Probably some weird media gag they're pulling off." Yang tried to wave off Ruby's worry.

"Ya' mean that weirdo monster thing? It's totally real, I got a guy in Mistral who was there n' everything. N' I even heard there's some weird outbreak! Like more and more people are turning into 'em!" his hands gripped the table with a weird amount of excitement, Ruby reeled back in the booth seating looking a little bit frightened. "N' I also hear that they're gonna be roundin' up the freaks in a few weeks!" he laughed. "Don't worry Ruby, you'll be safe…as long as you're not one of them!"

Ruby looked a little bit more horrified, Yang looked at her sister and then back to Junior with a rather large scowl. "Will you cut that out? She's only 15. The anxiety and pressure of school is already enough on her." Yang wrapped an arm around her little sister.

"I'm fine Yang, really…" Ruby mumbled looking down and messing around with her scroll.

"Anyway's, I ordered the usual for you, Yang. I ordered lil' Rubes some chicken tenders." Junior said.

Yang, Ruby and Junior ate and chatted for quite a bit, mostly about Yang's career and of the likes. Junior had been a friend of Yang's since middle school, and although Yang was a senior in highschool she already had her future planned out as a professional MMA fighter - this dream and feat wouldn't have been accomplished without Junior, her manager.

The time had flown and although it was still light out, Yang knew it was time to go home. She and Ruby said their goodbyes to Junior and to those all that had stuck around. The two walked out of the restaurant with full bellies and contented sighs.

"Oh, I can't wait to get home." Ruby twirled as she walked towards Bumblebee. "I think there's gonna be a new episode of X-Ray and…" she turned around and noticed Yang had a strange look on her face. One of concentration. "Yang?" she called out to her.

Yang she merely put a finger over her own mouth and made a small shushing sound. Yang looked around suspiciously and began to walk towards the back of the restaurant.

"Yang where are you going?" Ruby followed, "You're headed right for those weird alley ways!" she called out still following.

"Someone's calling for help." she said in a hurry. Her pace increased, she had begun to lightly jog.

"You're hearing things!" Ruby said now jogging after her.

"No, no. I'm sure of this." Yang now began to run, she ran through the alley ways almost as she had been there before, she ran across an empty street and towards another alley way. Ruby now began to run as well, she kept up pretty well for her being younger.

"Why didn't you just take the bike?!" she yelled as she ran.

"We wouldn't have made it fast enough." Yang replied as she now entered a sprint. She entered another empty street and momentarily stood on the sidewalk looking back and forth down one way.

"This part of town isn't safe, Yang…" Ruby had said as she caught up, not yet out of breath. Yang then looked up the road and immediately ran towards another alleyway that was up the street.

She turned the corner and noticed two boys, hovering over a smaller female who seemed to be like a terrified little rabbit hunched up against a cage.

"Hey!" Yang called out. "What do you think you're doing?" she now approached the boys who were facing the girl in a menacing manner.

"Yang, what are you doing?! They could be armed!" Ruby called out as she watched from a distance.

The taller boy, who seemed to be the 'leader', sneered and spat at the girl on the ground who was now shivering.

"We're teaching this freak a lesson!" the taller boy replied.

"Freak? What are you talking about?" Yang replied.

The smaller boy approached the girl and pulled back her hair, revealing her right ear that was clearly glowing. She quickly pushed the boy away and covered herself, now looking even more terrified than before.

"She's like the one's that we saw on the news a few days! Not only that, she isn't the only one!" the smaller boy walked back to Yang.

Yang had a small moment of shock, not because of the glow, but because of these boys who thought it'd be okay to do this to someone.

"That doesn't give you the right to torture her." Yang scrunched up her fist, it's one thing to beat someone up if they seem to deserve it, but it's another thing to beat someone up who can't fight back and won't fight back.

"So what? You're gonna let this stupid freak turn into a monster and kill us all?" the taller boy stated back.

"I'm pretty sure the only people she wants to kill right now is you two idiots." Yang now snarled.

"You're talking tough, pretty girl, so now you're gonna defend this monster? I guess that makes you my enemy!" The taller boy ran at Yang with a fist flying at her face.

Yang quickly sidestepped and laid a fist right in his stomach with her left hand, her right hand grabbed him by the shoulder while she maneuvered her footing and got underneath him, lifting him and essentially flipping him on the cold hard concrete.

The smaller boy looked shocked and ran towards his taller friend, he shook him awake and the two quickly ran off past Ruby.

"Friggin' punks." Yang hissed. Yang now looked towards the rather thin girl, with brunette locks, who was on the ground still in some sort of shock.

"W-why are you helping me?" the girl cried out. "Didn't you hear them? I'm a freak! I'm a monster!" She backed away from the approaching Yang. Ruby slowly followed in behind and watched the interaction.

"You don't deserve to be beaten up for who or what you are." She squatted down and put one knee on the ground, and sat in front of the girl. "Look, I don't care what you are. You deserve to live, just like everyone else." Yang's voice was calm, and sincere.

"H-how did you even find me?" the girl timidly asked as she seemed to have calmed down just a tiny bit.

"I…honestly, I don't know. I kinda just…felt you crying out for help. I just kept running until that feeling got stronger. Then, I found you." Yang scratched the back of her head with a somewhat confused look on her face. She didn't even understand it herself. She didn't even know how or why she was able to find the girl, it was just a pure instinct. Almost motherly. "What's your name?" Yang asked now offering her hand towards the girl.

"Velvet." the girl answered softly, now taking Yang's hand and slowly standing up. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I don't think we're done here yet. Do you have somewhere safe to stay?" Yang asked, now awfully aware of the whole situation. Those two boys knew that she was a monster. Who was to say that they weren't going to run off and tell the cops and if what Junior was saying was true, that would imply Velvet's life is still in danger.

Velvet nodded. "I have a gir- a friend. Who goes to school in Vale."

"How well do they know you? Can you trust them?" Yang asked.

Velvet nodded. "We've been friends for several years and she's never done me wrong."

"Velvet, what you need to now is go to her. Hide. Your life is in danger and staying here could possibly get you arrested, or worse." Yang, Velvet and Ruby proceeded to walk towards the alley's opening.

Velvet nodded once more.

"Make sure nobody sees you. Do you have a way back home?"

"Yes, I do. I'll pack my things and leave as soon as possible." Velvet added once more.

Yang meekly smiled and patted her on the back. Yang and Ruby walked the girl back home.

"I never got your name." Velvet commented as they approached her home.

"It's Yang. Yang Xiao Long." she nodded and then pointed to her little sister. "That's…"

"Hi! I'm Ruby..Rose!" Ruby grinned as she interrupted.

"Thank you two for everything." Velvet bowed as they arrived at her doorstep.

The two now knowing the girl was safe, at home, for the meantime, took their leave.

"Yang, that was incredible!" Ruby excitedly said as they had begun to walk back to the restaurant.

"What? I flip losers like that all the time." she chuckled.

"No! You totally, like, saved that monster girl! Did you see how happy she was?" Ruby excited clapped her hands together.

"I thought you were scared of the monsters?" Yang questioned.

"No! I was scared for them! It's not fair if they're gonna be treated poorly like that. Did you see she was just a small girl like me?" Ruby commented.

Yang nodded. "I wouldn't like that if that was you. I'd do my best to protect you."

"But you're the type who will protect just about anyone in need!"

"True, true. It's not a big deal though. It's the right thing to do." Yang wavered off. "Let's just go home, okay?"

_What a strange day._


	2. The Past Bites

 

 

 

**Chapter 1 / The Past Bites / Patch / Yang Xiao Long / Three months ago**

"Authorities are still looking out for this girl - whom witnesses say had a glowing ear. A warrant and bounty for her capture has been set to about $5000. Any hints of her whereabouts and location can be sent to…" Click.

Yang sighed and scrunched her nose as she tossed the t.v remote to the side of her. She knew the situation could've turned out worse. Much worse, but she knew were the girl was. She was safe. Just like she deserved to be. As far as Yang was concerned Velvet hadn't done anything wrong and so far, she was still had every right to deserve her freedom.

But this outbreak was getting worse. More and more news reports of people with glowing body parts either turning into monsters and killing very small amounts of people or people who were just unlucky, caught and arrested. Nobody really knows what happens after that. Yang could only imagine that they were sent to some sort of facility or, well, a death chamber. She gulped and sighed once more.

She checked her scroll - it was time to go.

It was the weekend and the weekend meant conditioning and practice. It took her about an hour to get to the gym so she got herself into gear and drove off on her trusty Bumblebee.

Thoughts raced through her mind. What if there were others who needed help? Innocent people were getting beaten up just because they couldn't help who they were! It just didn't make sense. Why did they turn into monsters in the first place? Because they were getting bullied? Aren't the bullies in a sense, monsters? Some things just weren't adding up.

Yang revved up her bike as she sped down the freeway and alarming speeds as her blood had begun to boil. Surprisingly she had made it to the gym in just under an hour and without being pulled over no less.

She entered and greeted all of the employees as she had quite the reputation within the gym as well.

Junior was already there. As always.

"Heeey! My girl!" he went in for a bro-five. Which Yang responded in the equal to.

"You've got a big match in about 3 months. The rest have forfeited because they can't handle being beaten by The DRAGOON!" He boasted.

"How many nicknames am I gonna have?" she chuckled out as she made her way towards the locker rooms.

"The only nickname you should care about is being THE CHAMP!" he snapped his fingers together in a cocky manner as he slowly followed along and then stopping at the entrance of the girls locker room.

Yang shook her head and quickly changed into her fighting gear. She left the locker room and had begun her routine. She would be there for several hours. Working her form, strength, endurance and all of the likes. She practiced moves on Junior who was surprisingly strong enough to handle some of Yang's moves. It had been like this for the two of them for years, and Yang seemed to have grown substantially from when she started. As a young girl Yang was surprisingly weak, it was only when she started seeing her friends, and even her sister get picked on that she decided to do something about it. Working her mind and body seemed to work as she was now an unstoppable MMA force of nature.

After training had let out, or well, when Yang had decided it was time to stop her and Junior made sure to catch up on all the latest news.

"So, where is my next fight exactly?" Yang asked, wiping the sweat off of her face with a towel.

"Vale. The big city. A dream, innit?" Junior grinned as he squeezed water into his mouth from his water bottle.

Yang's nose twitched at the word Vale. The thought of it brought back the thought of Velvet. She was in good hands, right? Yang shook off the feeling. She was. Yang knew she was, but she couldn't help but worry. She felt like it was her job to worry.

"'Ey, earth to blondie." he waved his hand in front of her face.

She swatted at him. "I'm fine, fine. Just tired." she began to stretch herself to cooldown.

"Mm. So, you wanna know who your opponent is?"

"Isn't it Nora Valkyrie? The Thunder Fist?" Yang guessed.

"Correctorino." he snapped. "They say her thunder fast fists can knock you out in just a few punches. She's new and fresh, almost like you blondie. But the only difference is...you're better!" he clapped.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Don't discredit the underdog, Junior."

"Yet you called 'em the underdog!"

"Doesn't mean they won't win." Yang retorted.

"Awhh, Yang, don't play yourself off like that." he patted Yang. "Go home, get rest, you've got time plenty of time to get your head together." he commented.

"Junior."

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever feel like you were meant for something greater?" Yang asked in a monotone voice as she stared at her towel, scrunching it up in one hand.

"Greater than being one of the best MMA fighters in the world? Hah!" he laughed, an almost obvious answer.

"No, I mean...I don't just want to fight. I want to protect too." Yang sighed.

"Protect? You got fists to do that!" He chuckled once more.

Yang just shook her head and left towards the locker room. She showered and packed her things. She had left a duffle bag in there for clothing transportation and now it was time to take those home.

_It's not just that Junior, I think...I'm meant for something greater. I just don't know_

* * *

**/ Weiss Schnee / Atlas / 3 Months Ago /**

"Do you believe in destiny?" asked Pyrrha.

"Huh?" Weiss responded as she looked up from her pile of books, a bit confused and fatigued.

"Well this isn't it." Pyrrha joked. "We've been researching for months, Weiss and I don't think Jaune can read anymore of these…" she flipped through a pile of rather large and intimidating books that seemed way too comprehensive and complex for teenagers. Jaune proceeded to groan in the background with his head covered in these large books.

"Nobody said you had to come with me!" Weiss retorted, now full of life.

"Yeah, but Weiss, we're not getting anything out of these books and besides who's gonna keep you sane?"

"Are you saying I'll go insane without you?" she eyed Pyrrha from behind a large book.

"N-no! I'm just saying that this isn't healthy and maybe going out with your friends to places OTHER than the library on a daily basis isn't really...great." Pyrrha gave a cheesy smile, that indicated her distress about the whole situation.

"Can't we go to the mall or something?" Jaune commented from underneath the books.

"What good would the mall do us?" Weiss asked.

"It would be better than this…" Pyrrha outstretched her arms and pointed to every book that covered the entirety of the, including the empty chair at the table.

Weiss set down the book and leaned back sighing in defeat. "Fine. We'll leave early."

"It's a start…" mumbled Jaune now removing the books from his head.

The three of them gathered the books in a neat pile and proceeded to put them in the 'return' pile. Weiss drove them all to her house, both Pyrrha and Jaune beelined for the couch and proceeded to pile on top of it.

"This couch is way more comfortable than the libraries chairs!" Jaune said in a rather relaxed voice.

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. "What do you guys want to eat tonight?" Weiss asked now making her way towards the kitchen.

"Anything!" both of them called out.

Weiss was a rather good cook, normally an upbringing like Weiss's meant that she wasn't the one worrying about cooking, but she took an interest when the cooks there let her partake in the process. She instantly fell in love with being able to cook. With the answer she was given she went for something simple. Chicken fried rice was her option. Within 20 minutes she had the meal cooked.

"Ready!" Weiss called out.

The two others ran to the kitchen and began to chow down. A couple moments later the door opened.

"Weiss?" A fatherly voice called out.

Weiss looked at her friends and then walked towards the door. "Hey Father. Uhh, Pyrrha and Jaune are over, just so you know."

Walter, Weiss's father, was one of the richest and most powerful men on earth. He was the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company of course. Of course, to Jaune and Pyrrha he was just Mr. Schnee. To Weiss, he was father or simply, dad.

Mr. Schnee sighed and pulled his daughter to his office, she followed along confusedly and turned back to note her friends were peeking out of the kitchen at her and her father. He closed the door behind him and took a deep breath.

"Weiss, I need you to be serious here."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" she asked a little bit confused.

"It's time for you to know more about the company and start to work and maybe take over." he stated clearly and concisely.

"But you know I don't want to do that. I have no interest in that!" she complained.

"I didn't ask if it interested you, you're going to learn and you're going to go with me to Vale in three months."

Weiss made a face of disapproval and of confusion. "W-what? That's not fair!"

"You're going to sit in on some meetings with me, and I'll take you to the factory there. You will learn." Mr. Schnee stated cool and calmly. Weiss knew she didn't have a choice or a say in the matter.

Weiss sighed. "I never get to do what I want…" Weiss mumbled quietly to herself.

Mr. Schnee just shook his head. He knew damn well that this wasn't the full truth. Weiss had more than enough freedom, especially for a woman of her status. Weiss had begun her life in private schools but was able to convince her dad to go to a public school in the beginning of her freshman year of high school. Where she met Pyrrha and Jaune. Two people who had treated her normally, even if she was extremely rich. They weren't there for the money, but for the genuinity of Weiss. Weiss wasn't as snobby as they had originally expected. She was mostly one to break the stereotype. Most had avoided her for that reason, and mainly that reason alone. She was in reality, a force to be reckoned.

Weiss left the room mumbling to herself and returned to Pyrrha and Jaune.

The two were sitting at the table with empty plates and worried looks. "What happened?" Pyrrha asked.

"I have to go to work with my dad. I'm going to Vale in three months." Weiss sighed as she sat in the chair across from Pyrrha.

"Whoa! That's great!" Jaune commented with a smile.

"No, it's not!" Weiss barked back almost immediately. Jaune recoiled, and slouched in his chair.

"Hey, whoa...think of it as an opportunity. Didn't you say that the outbreaks are worse in other countries? Vale, being like the biggest?" Pyrrha mentioned.

Weiss momentarily paused at the thought. Almost as if she had an epiphany right then and there. An epiphany due to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha! You're like a total genius!" she immediately perked up. She stood up, excitedly and paced around. "Think about it. I could start doing field research! I've been stuck in a dreary old library and now, I can explore almost all of Vale?"

"You said three months, right? You should check out that MMA fight between the Great Fire Dragon of Patch versus The Thunder Fist!" Jaune added in.

Both Pyrrha and Weiss paused and looked at him funnily.

"What? I like watching girls fight...so what…" he mumbled now twiddling his thumbs in a slight embarrassment.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes and Weiss lightly scoffed. "Go on." Pyrrha turned back towards Weiss and wanted to let her continue on her tirade.

"Imagine if I do run into one of them! Wait, what would I even do if I did run into one of them. I don't think they'd be hostile, but what would get them to even trust me? Ugghh…" Weiss's excitement quickly wavered as her thoughts seemed to encumber her. "How would I even go about finding one? I can't just walk up to people and ask 'Hey, are you a monster? I'm trying do research!'" Weiss stopped her pacing and looked slightly defeated.

"Whoa, whoa...Weiss, don't get too worked up about it. You have a full three months to plan this out." Pyrrha commented. "Besides, you have two best friends who want to help you succeed in whatever...just as long as you're happy with what you're doing."

Weiss gave a small smile towards Pyrrha and Jaune, who were both giving nods of encouragement. Jaune added a thumbs up for extra measure.

"Thanks you two, really...I don't know what I'd do without you guys." she had a bright smile on her face.

"We'll you'd be lonely without us!" Jaune joked.

Pyrrha and Weiss chuckled and shook their head in joking disapproval. Though, it was a joke to them and Weiss could understand that, she knew deep down that without them she would in fact be lonely.

"We can start our real work tomorrow!" Weiss stated.

"More work?" Jaune stated.

"Yeah, we're working in the kitchen, starting with the frozen gelato." Weiss grinned widely.

"All right!" Jaune and Pyrrha quickly hopped out of their seats and into the kitchen with Weiss.

* * *

**Mistral / Three Months Ago / Roman Torchwick**

"So, everything is in motion." He spoke into his scroll, away from the rest of his crew. "Understood. We'll keep our eyes open. We won't be the one's, but we'll be nearby. Yes. Goodbye." he ended the call and set the scroll in his back pocket.

ME02, Mercury, approached Torchwick with a questionable look on his face. "Who was that?"

"A source to end this problem." Roman smirked.

"You mean completely wipe out the monsters?" Mercury asked.

"Precisely."


	3. Strange Happenings

**/ Yang Xiao Long / Patch / One Month Ago**

 

It shouldn’t have happened, not like this at least. Everything was going so well. Practice for Yang in the last few months was an odd breeze. Her endurance, strength, stamina, and agility were greater than they had been two months ago. Because, that’s what practice does to one, doesn’t it? 

Not like this. Yang had felt extremely strong in ways she couldn’t put into words. Maybe the fact that over the past month she had actually managed to save another monster from such a treacherous fate as others that she had seen on the news. The method of operation was similar to the first time she had done so. The faint cries of the monster in need could be heard from a distance. Yang of course, came to the rescue with ease - beating down the criminals once more, who then fled the scene. She got the monster out of there, this time, a young boy. 

Yang could only wonder how long this would go on. How many more would she have to save from being killed? How many more would be killed? Why was this still happening? If anything, Yang had noticed that it was mostly occurring to the younger generation. Anyone who was older than 25 seemed to be in the clear. At least, that’s what the news said.

Yang rolled around in bed with these questions and thoughts in her mind. It was an off day for her. No work out. Nowhere to be for any sort of reason. It was just a free day.

_ Might as start the day with a shower. _ She pulled off the covers and sat up, stretching as she did so. She yawned and looked to her left where her nightstand was and looked at the clock. 11:07 AM. She shrugged to herself and swung her legs off the bed. She was lucky to have a room to herself. As in her previous house she had to share a room with Ruby, it wasn’t a bad thing it’s just that sometimes having your own privacy was something an older sister needed. Yang had helped her father afford this house with her own fight winnings, it was definitely a step up, but they weren’t filthy rich. They merely lived with a humble income. Nothing wrong with that.

Yang walked to the restroom, she was also lucky in a sense that she got the best room. One with its own restroom attached to it, which was definitely another plus for Yang. She entered the restroom and closed the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. “Heyyy, good lookin’.” she winked at herself and blew a small kiss to the mirror. She then chuckled to herself and shook her head wildly (damn bed head!) and stretched once more. After messing around with her reflection, she finally started to remove her clothing in order to shower. She firstly removed her shirt, then was in the process to remove her other articles of clothing, but took a double take in the mirror. She looked closely at her reflection, blinked hard several times, then rubbed her eyes and drew her attention back towards the reflection.

She looked down, then back up at the mirror. Was this some sort of joke? She began to run her hand over where her heart was. “No...way…” she grabbed the edge of the counter that blocked the way from her and the mirror as she sounded slightly distressed. She climbed up on the counter for a closer look and continuously looked down and up, to her chest to the the mirror.

There was no denying it. Her heart was glowing. She slid off the counter and back onto her feet. She looked down at her chest, her heart, in astonishment. The glow was there. It was faint, yet it could easily be covered with a shirt.

She leaned over the sink, now blankly staring down at it. “How did this even happen?” she muttered to herself. She lifted her head once more to look at the mirror and shook her head. Her hands tightly gripped the the edge of the counter.  _ Of course this would happen to me. _

A sudden light knock came from her closed restroom door, which caused her to look at the closed door with a distraught look on her face.

“Yang?” a feminine voice belonging to Ruby could be heard. Yang took a deep breath and immediately calmed down. Was she already paranoid? Or maybe this was some kind of lucid dream she was having. Either way, Yang didn’t know what to do.

“Y-yeah?” she called back almost a little timidly, but had enough life in her voice to hide the fact that there  _ was  _ something wrong.

“Junior called your scroll, which was in the living room, I answered it because it wouldn’t stop ringing...” Ruby started to ramble on, she knew that Yang really didn’t like her younger sister touching her stuff, but sometimes it couldn’t be helped. “He also says that he would like you two to leave for Vale early, like four days from now early. Dunno why you guys would need to leave so early...he said something about getting a feel for the place and…”

“Ruby!” Yang called out.

“Uh-huh?” she responded.

“I got it, thanks.” Yang scratched the back of her head as she stood on the other side of the door from Ruby. She was at a loss. This new revelation had completely thrown her off, she had an important fight to get ready for and while she was fine physically, she was now mentally unsure.

“No problem Yang.” Ruby called back, her footsteps now could be heard leaving their position from behind the door way.

“Ruby!” Yang called out once more. She heard the footsteps stop and her sister's voice reply.

“Yeah, Yang?”

“Can I show you something?” her voice was low and steady.

“Uhh...Yang, I’m not a doctor! If it’s a rash I definitely don’t wanna see it.” Ruby sounded a bit reluctant towards her sister.

“Ruby, it’s nothing like that. Trust me.” she sighed as she grabbed a clean towel from a small cabinet that was above the toilet. She completely covered her chest and bust, but she was still wearing a sports bra. She walked towards the door. “I’m coming out, okay?”

Ruby stepped back from the door and slightly shielded her eyes. “Kayyy.” she replied.

Yang stepped out, towel still covering her top with her shorts still on. “Uncover your eyes, Rubes.” 

Ruby uncovered her eyes and looked at Yang with confusion. “What am I supposed to be seeing?” she scratched her head.

Yang dropped her towel, causing Ruby to immediately shield her eyes. “Yang, you have boobs I know that!” 

“I have a bra on now look at me!” Yang now sounded a little irritated.

Ruby uncovered her eyes once more and her eyes widened. “Y-yang…” she approached her older sister and reached out to her. “You’re...glowing…”

Yang stepped back. “N-no. Don’t touch me, okay?” 

“You think what you have is contagious?” Ruby questioned.

“I...I honestly don’t know. I’ve saved two of those things, now...now I’m one.” she looked down at herself and watched the glow radiate.

“You’re not a  _ thing _ , Yang. You’re Yang Xiao Long, my big sister and one heck of a mixed martial arts fighter.” Ruby replied in a calm voice.

“Oh shit. I have to fight Ruby, I can’t fight like this.” Yang walked towards her bed and sat down, looking defeated.

“Is there anyway you can cover it up? Don’t some MMA fighters wear shirts?” Ruby asked.

“I mean they do, but...I’m not human anymore Ruby. In my past few practices I’ve been getting immensely stronger and in not-so-human ways.” Yang thought back on one incident she had in private. She had been messing around with a punching bag and completely broke it in half with a half-assed punched. “I think I could kill someone if I’m not careful.” 

“You won’t kill anyone, Yang. That’s not you.”

“I know it’s not me, but what if I can’t control it? What if I randomly transform into it in the middle of a fight?” Yang now laid back on the bed, sprawled out. “I’m so screwed.”

Ruby ran up to her and grabbed her by the arm to pull her up, which Yang reluctantly sat up. “No, you’re not!” she protested. “You and me, we’re gonna learn what you can do. Let’s first transform you!”

“What?” Yang’s face was now one of serious disbelief and concern. “Are you nuts? What if I lose myself and hurt you Ruby?”

“Yang.” she grabbed her by the face. “You. Wouldn’t. Do. That.”

Yang sighed, fighting her sister was no easy battle and she just wanted to give up already. Ruby took Yang by the hand and dragged her outside. They lived in a good amount of solitude, as the acres and acres of land stretched on. They’re ‘neighbors’’ were a good 10 - 15 miles away. Yang, followed along still half in the nude with her shirt off. Not like it mattered.

“Okay, do it!” Ruby stated as they had wandered several yards away from the house.

“Do what?” Yang flailed her arms up and then down to her hips.

“Transform!” 

Yang slapped her forehead. “Rubes, if I knew how to do this I wouldn’t be worrying about it.”  _ And here I thought you’d have a plan. _

“Then just transform!” she sweetly smiled.

“I told you, I don’t know  _ how! _ ” Yang grit her teeth.

“Of course you do.” 

“You’re not helping the situation, Ruby.” Yang merely clenched her fist and lightly hit her hip in a tick of frustration.

“Close your eyes and breath then. Just think on it.” Ruby then suggested.

Yang shook her head, and rolled her eyes looking a bit opposed to the idea. She did it anyways, as she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She thought back on the news, the little boy who was the first suspect...and victim. Nobody took the time to understand what was going on. Shoot first, ask questions later, right? She thought on several more news outlets who had shown captures of teenagers, and young adults who were being brought in for questioning - experiments - something. She remembered the horror on their face, the confusion, some showed no emotion. She remembered Velvet. The girl was not a lot bigger than Yang, or Ruby even. She continued to think...think... _ think and feel. _

A heavy breath escaped her and she opened her eyes, “It’s not...WORKING!” she roared as she had immediately transformed into a very big brutish monster. The hair on her head had transformed into exoskeleton like armor that covered and wrapped around the majority of her body. The hair, now exoskeleton, covered her weak spot. Her facial features resembled that of a dragon mixed with a dire wolf. The exoskeleton formed ram horns on her head, as the skeleton covered her snout as well. Yet, the natural color of Yang’s hair was not preserved and made the armor appear black, while the uncovered fur that  _ was  _ shown was a lightish yellow, similar to Yang’s hair. Her hands too, now claws, covered by the armor. The armor, had covered the majority of her but the parts left unchecked were her sides, and the back of her legs, which resembled werewolves legs, and the way to her raptor like feet. She stood tall, about 15 feet tall, but she was very bulky and looked incredible tough. 

She had outstretched her arms as she had roared, and now looked down at the ground beneath her, spotting a very tiny Ruby looked stunned. She then looked down at herself and at her claws in awe.

“Yang!” Ruby had called out, “You did it!”

The words were slightly muffled to Yang, but she understood - somehow. She got on all fours and brought her snout towards the small girl. She sniffed her, inhaling every scent. She could smell the cookies that Ruby had eaten earlier that day. Yang shook her head. A slight hint of unease ran through her mind. She was completely coherent and conscious, but she could tell another part of her was inching in to completely lose it. Yet, Yang’s willpower was a lot greater and she had no aim, no enemy, just...Ruby. She exhaled over Ruby’s small frame, which showed as Ruby’s hair flew as the wind from Yang’s snout hit her. 

“Heh.” Ruby chuckled. “You okay in there?”

“Yeah.” Yang muffled out in her monster gibberish language.

“Uhh...it’s a shame I can’t speak monster.” Ruby commented now reaching out to touch Yang. She softly pet the top of Yang’s snout. “Awwh, you’re so rough…” 

Yang merely nodded.

Ruby proceeded to circle around Yang observing her. She touched the unarmored yellow fur and cooed. “Awwh, you’re soft too!!” she said as Yang just stood there. The feeling of being petted was an oddly strange feeling for Yang. Most people didn’t  _ pet  _ her. Well, she had never actually been pet, but the feeling she got from Ruby doing it was just uncomfortable in a sense.

“Yeah, this is great and all but I don’t know how to transform back.” Yang murmured out, but to Ruby it sounded like a low growl.

Ruby hopped back - away from Yang. “Uhh, you okay there big girl?” she asked now coming up front to Yang.

Yang nodded again, then got a weird look on her face, then motioned to herself then weirdly barked out. (In translation: “Are you calling me fat?”)

“Huh? Is the little Timmy stuck in a well?” Ruby teased, still unable to understand what Yang had been saying.

Yang took in a deep breath and blew on Ruby, knocking her over pretty easily.

“Okay, okay!” she stood up, wiping herself off. “Just think happy thoughts or something. That’s how it works in some movies at least.” she grinned and patted Yang on the nose then stepped away from her, giving her well-needed space.

Yang closed her eyes once more as she sat down. She thought about how she did save Velvet. Velvet was safe...and all was at ease. Then another image appeared into her head, she couldn’t make out the face, but it was an image of a female figure. One who was approaching her with a passion that she didn’t understand. If she had a tail she would’ve been wagging it at this moment. But where did this thought come from? Who was this stranger to Yang? Yang breathed out once more and felt a small hand against her skin.

“You okay, Yang?” Ruby asked.

Yang opened her eyes and noticed she was small once more. Human. She looked down at her hands noticing all of that, whatever that was - was gone for now. She looked down at her chest once more, it still glowed. Now, now Yang knew. That if she tried hard enough she could control. She can’t control the glow, but the transformation in itself took time and practice. She had a few days before she would be off, but those days would be well spent making sure that everything went just right.

Yang huffed and stood up. “Yeah, I’m fine. I think I’ll be able to control this in no time.” she smiled. Through all that Yang had noted that she had managed to retain her clothing. Which, was lucky in hindsight. Having transformations and then appearing naked all of the time could prove to be troublesome. This was another mystery, but one that Yang did not question.

“What are you gonna do now?” Ruby asked as she walked towards Yang, curiously.

“I’ll probably stay out here for the time being, just going in and out of transformation. To see what I can do.” Yang answered.

“Oooh. I’ll watch! This is so much better than T.V!” she clapped excitedly then stepped away from Yang and watched her carefully.

With the whole day being free for Yang, she spent the next several hours just focusing on going in and out of her monster mode. The second time around was easier, going in and out of. The third time was just as easy. Yang had quickly picked up the essentials for transformation. She noted that it didn’t necessarily just take emotion to change. State of mind was important for keeping self-control alive. She realized that stressing, was a big contribution for sudden transformation. That of course, was something that was hard to avoid in some situations, but Yang trusted herself enough that she wouldn’t do so. 

As soon as she had gotten the hang of changing she proceeded to stay in her Monster form. She proceeded to walk around on two legs, then on all four. She found that they gave an equally odd, yet satisfying feeling. Next, she messed around with the trees in the yard, that had offered them protection from prying eyes. She looked at her claw like hands and proceeded to swipe at the base of the tree, it was now cleanly cut in several sections.

In a moment of awe, she had watched as part of the tree fell - towards Ruby. With great speeds she stood in front of the tree that had begun to fall, catching it with ease. Both her and Ruby were unscathed as Yang’s armor had protected her. Yang tossed the tree into the distance and looked back towards Ruby, who seemed to be looking at her with a huge grin.

Yang immediately regained human form and jogged towards Ruby, “You okay?” she asked looking at her little sister. “I’m so stupid, you could’ve gotten hurt.” she said now running her hands all over Ruby’s face checking for any sort of cut or bruising. 

“Yang, you’re incredible!” she poked at her older sister’s uncovered stomach. “We’ve been out here for hours and you’ve already come so far!” Ruby took her sister's hands and flailed them about with her in excitement. “Think of all the others we can save.”

“Ruby…” Yang stood there a little stoically “I can’t go around and be some kind of superhero now, I still have a normal life to live. Besides...my kind,” she paused, getting a slight sense of unease  _ ‘my kind?’ What exactly is my kind? Monsters?  _ “People like me are being hunted, Ruby. Did you forget that?” she continued on.

“No, I know - it’s just that...You can totally help more monsters, since you are one. They’ll believe you more, right?” she gave a small grin, still fully believing in her sister.

“I mean, it’s not a complete guarantee. But, I’ll see what I can do, just for you okay? I just have to make it through next month’s fight and I’ll make sure that every...friend we run into is safe.” she squeezed her sister's hand, they’re hands had never released from the excitement flail that Ruby had. Although Yang had said those words, as she had said, there was no guarantee. Yang couldn’t account for the monsters that had lost their way. Yang had restricted her younger sister from watching the news as there were slowly more and more outbreaks of these monster growing more rogue and actually attacking some innocent bystanders. While, it wasn’t a huge increase, it was still substantial enough to cause some sort of alarm.

“Now, let’s go inside.” Yang said. “I’m starving and I still haven’t taken my shower.” she grinned and let go of one of Ruby’s hands, still holding onto the other and led her inside.

“Yay!” Ruby cheered out.

 

**Mistral Elite Units / Roman / Mistral**

 

“Yes, it has  _ sir. _ ” Roman calmly replied to the man on the scroll. “You will see a rise no time. My boss has made sure that everything was in place. Yes. I understand. Goodbye.” he clicked the scroll and sighed.

“You’ve really gotta stop making these weird calls.” Mercury commented.

“You really gotta stop being nosey.” Roman retorted.

Mercury kept his mouth shut, while his companions smirked to themselves. 

“It appears we have a busy year ahead of us, friends.” he said as he entered a room filled with soldiers in training - his own unit stood behind him in a serious looking formation. “Welcome to the Mistral Guard. While, you’re all not necessarily elite, you all are necessarily needed.”

“But we’re in a time of peace!” one recruit called out.

“Not exactly.” Roman commented with a grin.

 

**/ Weiss Schnee / Atlas / One month ago /**

 

It was only in a sudden realization that there was only one month left to prepare herself. A strange sense of excitement had filled her every time she thought about her adventure to come. Though, another sense of anxiety had filled the other half of her. She had been keeping up with the news - and the news reports had claimed that these monsters were growing more and more dangerous as the days passed. Most held and saw that the monsters motives unclear, and if anything, they were obviously animalistic with no clear intent other than to hunt their prey, and as humans, we are the ones being hunted.

Yet, Weiss knew that there was much more to it than just that. In fact, she was sure of it. There had to be some reason behind this strange outbreak. Weiss, was sure that she would find a lot of answers in Vale. She had brushed up on a lot of simple facts about Vale. Every major center of land held an Elite Unit Guard - so it would come at no surprise that Vale had it’s own to brag about. 

Out of her own curiosity, she checked out what Jaune had mentioned a few months ago. Weiss, wasn’t all about business and she knew that she would need some sort of escape and although, fighting wasn’t her thing - she knew it’d draw a big crowd and if anything - a monster! She had easily looked up online when and where the event would be held. In the city, obviously, but the building itself was rather large. The tickets were of no cost to Weiss, she was rich after all and luckily, the event itself would be held around the same time Weiss was visiting Vale. What luck!

Weiss now checked out the competitors.  _ Yang Xiao Long versus Nora Valkyrie!  _ the website stated in an oversized font, with bright letters. Their nicknames were shown underneath along with their stats. Weiss couldn’t help but stare at the blonde competitor - Yang. She was quite the sight. She was an astonishing 6’1, Weiss herself was only 5’3. Yang was 19 years old (who had happened to start school a little late, so it seems.) Weiss, was only 18. She had recently turned 18 in the past month, even so, Weiss was the youngest of her few friends.

Weiss bit her lip as she had continued to eye the picture of Yang, in fact she ended up image searching her a bit more. Yang, was absolutely  _ ripped  _ in every picture she had. Most of which were of her and her previous fights which were many of her victories.  _ Why am I? _ Weiss thought to herself only to quickly shut her laptop and put it at a distance from her.  _ I’m not… _

She shook her head and took a deep breath, grabbing her scroll. She looked through pictures of her, Pyrrha and Jaune. She had always known that Jaune was crushing on her. Something she didn’t care to discuss and ultimately decided to ignore. While in the meanwhile, she also knew that Pyrrha was crushing on Jaune. Yet, Weiss herself, never crushed on the two. She took a look at Pyrrha in her pictures. She was attractive, but...girls weren’t her thing, were they? She hadn’t felt a damn thing for her, except for a platonic sort of love. As for Jaune, she didn’t care much for him.

Weiss tossed aside her scroll.  _ It’s just a fluke. Sometimes people get weird crushes, on people they don’t know. Happens with fangirls and fanboys all the time. This is no different. I may be rich, but that doesn’t guarantee I’ll actually meet her.  _ Weiss plopped herself on her bed.  _ Besides, a girl like that...Wait, wait a girl like what? I’m not even..why am I still thinking so much on this?! Ugh! _

  
Weiss closed her eyes and rolled to her side.  _ Just go to...sleep!  _ That night, she dreamed of strange things, but if there was one thing she could simply not shove to the back of her mind - was that girl, Yang Xiao Long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really would like some feedback if there are people reading this. Hah. :^)


	4. Intersection

**Yang / Vale / Present /**

 

Yang had already been in Vale for several weeks, the reason being Junior thought it would be a wise idea to make Yang ‘accustomed’ to the city and its people. Also, following Junior's own words that ‘You’re gonna own this town, so you might as well start rulin’ now!’. Or, at least that’s how Yang remembered the conversation going. She had remembered arriving into the city and having small crowds of people every now and then surrounding her asking for pictures and autographs. Yang never imagined that she would be  _ this _ popular outside of her home town. This was definitely going to be her biggest fight to date.

 

Yang daydreamed as she stared out of the window of the hotel they were staying at. Yang might have been a pretty popular MMA fighter, but she still kept humble in terms of what she spent her winnings on. The hotel they were staying at only had three stories, and she was on the second floor, but it was nothing compared to the one in the distance. Clear as day as it stood. It was part of the Schnee monopoly, not only did the Schnee’s own 90% percent of the dust companies and trades, but they also had started their own hotel branch. For the rich and well, for the ones who didn’t mind the overpricing of almost anything. 

 

Yang could only imagine the snobs that came in and out of there. She remembered only a little about the Schnee family. The head CEO Walter Schnee, was a force to be reckoned with. He has two daughters. Well, he  _ had _ two daughters. Apparently the eldest one passed away from a freak accident. The younger one, Yang was completely unsure about. If anything, that youngest was more than just under the radar, she just didn’t exist.

 

Yang took a deep breath and stretched, she headed towards the restroom and looked over herself. The glow on her heart was still there. She ran her hand over it as she had hundreds of times before. The was an exceptional warmth to it, something that she had noticed in the past few weeks after arriving at Vale. She was also quite lucky to have a room to herself, where she could be in her natural state. Half-nude. Yang, was also thankful towards Junior, who had accommodated them in the hotel. It was a good price for how long they were staying, plus Yang was considered an honored guest, so not a lot of money had been spent on their travels there.

 

Yang was surprised that she had managed to hide it so well all of this time. Junior had questioned the change in Yang’s attitude about being seen without a shirt. Normally, Yang was all for cleavage and abs, but lately she in the words of Junior was behaving very ‘prudish’. The thought of this had caused Yang to roll her eyes subconsciously. What did it matter to him? She proceeded to brush her teeth and wash her face. Another day around the city. 

 

With a leather jacket, and tight yellow t-shirt that had words that appeared bloody that said ‘Fight or Die’ shown across it, while she sported black skinny jeans along with combat boots - Yang felt like a complete and total badass. Which, let’s be real here, she was. That - and her heart would be completely shielded by the thick jacket. While, it wasn’t necessarily cold outside, she’d still feel and look as fresh as ever. She grabbed her wallet and keys and headed out the building.

 

It was a perfectly good day. She had been around the city multiple times already, but another time couldn’t hurt. As she walked several people had approached her, some she had met before, some she hadn’t. Most were there to chat and make small chat, trying to get close one of the top rising stars of the fighting world. Yang happily obliged to make small talk with them, but was sure to keep her distance in an emotional sense and even physical sense. She was there, but she was never giving them 100%. 

 

After a small amount of chitter chatter, Yang pressed on with the sights around town. She was doing fairly well navigating the city in such a small amount of time. As she had approached the Schnee building she couldn’t help but become a little curious as to the type of people who came out of there. First, she spotted an old man with a God-awful toupee sitting on his head as she approached from the distance - she smirked at this.  _ Wow, stereotypical much? _ She chuckled to herself as she waited across the street from the hotel, waiting for the signal to change making it clear for her to cross the street. While she waited she had continued to stare at the rather large hotel building.

 

Then, a young girl walked out. The hair on her head was as white as snow, and the sundress she had on complimented her own looks. The girl looked pissed as she walked out of the hotel in a hurry - she also was busy looking down on her phone, not paying attention around her. She also looked like she didn’t belong in the setting. Yang got an odd feeling as she stared at the girl. Her instincts were telling her to follow her and lately her instincts hadn’t been wrong. Yang tapped her foot impatiently at the light, which then changed, allowing her to cross the street. Yang slowly jogged across the street, trying to keep an eye on the girl.

 

The girl took an odd turn, as she was far ahead of Yang. Yang sped up, and navigated through the small crowds that were walking the street. She had followed the turn which led to an alleyway, an empty alleyway which led off in two different directions. She didn’t hear the usual cry for help that monster gave off in their silence, instead she actually heard the girl speak loudly.

 

“Are you kidding me?” a very feminine and annoyed voice said. “Great.” 

 

Yang followed the voice to the left turn of the alleyway, where it came to a dead end, well not necessarily a dead end, but a fence was in the way. There she was greeted by two brute thugs, one with a knife in his hand and the other held a baseball bat. Her instincts hadn’t led her to a monster, but instead, a girl being mugged. This was oddly new for Yang.

 

“Hey!” Yang yelled out, now grabbing the attention of the thugs and the girl. The girl, herself looked rather shocked. The thugs themselves just smirked.

 

“Oh, look. A hero to save the day. You look like you have some nice things on you. Why don’t you give them to us, and we’ll be on our way and neither of you broads have to get hurt.” the thug with the knife stated in a very skeevish way. 

The small girl merely kept her mouth shut and stared at Yang, with an expression of familiarity. Yang had noticed this as her attention was squared away from the man speaking, and towards the small girl. Yang took a deep breath and inhaled a very sweet and exotic scent, she could immediately tell it was coming from the girl - even though their surroundings were nothing but garbage and industrial like smell in the air, that was the strongest thing Yang could smell. 

 

“Hey! Blondie! I’m talkin’ to you! Unless you wanna get cut!” The thug with the knife approached her a little more, and as intimidatingly as he could he swung his knife at her face. She reacted and pulled back her head to avoid the swing, but it was a little too late. A piece of Yang’s hair now hit the ground. She looked down, and the back up.

 

“You’ve just unlocked the dragon, buddy.” as soon as she had spoken these words she grabbed the guy's hand with the knife in it and twisted it. She twirled herself, so she was now standing in front of him, with her back towards him. She jabbed her elbow into his stomach, and proceeded to flip him over her. The other guy with the bat came at her like a common thug. Yet, her monster strength was no match for him. In mid-swing she caught the bat with her bare hand and crushed it, while the guy was stunned she kicked him in the gut, grabbed his face and guided it towards her knee where he then fell over writhing in pain. 

 

“Tch. That’s what you get for touching my hair.” she ran her hand over her hair, it wasn’t a lot that was missing but her hair was something she took great care of. She then turned to where the girl was, or where she should’ve been. Yang turned around and noticed the girl quickly turn the corner as if she were running for her life. “Hey! I just saved you!” she looked a little confused, yet there was something she couldn’t understand. It was the scent she had left behind. It was still so pungent as if she were wading in the girl’s scent. She looked down back at the thugs who didn’t seem to be getting up anytime soon.

 

Yang merely shook her head and left the alleyway, following the scent out. It led back to the prestigious hotel. She stopped at its doors which were guarded. The man at the door eyed her carefully. Yang was tempted to step towards the hotel, she didn’t want to stop following the smell. Yet, she knew if she tried she would end up being stopped at the door. She was all for stopping trouble, not causing it. 

 

“So much for seeing if she’s alright.” Yang began to walk away from the the hotel - going back to wandering around the city.  _ She didn’t even say ‘Thank you’. She just ran off.  _ Yang stuffed her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket.  _ And since she’s staying at that hotel, she’s probably some prissy girl who doesn’t even know what the word ‘Thank you’ means. Ugh.  _ Yang shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts away.  _ Have to admit, she did smell really REALLY nice. It was almost like she was the only thing I could smell. Must be some really expensive perfume. Eh, probably won’t run into Ms. Priss again. Probably has a lot of things to do on her social agenda. _

 

Yang found the nearest sports bar. She was only a few days away from her fight, and all the events of today had oddly stressed her out. She entered the bar and was greeted by the employees. Of course, there were those who tried to talk to her at the bar and all she could do was muster up a small smile, remain friendly, and make a little chit chat here and there. She ordered up some food, and a non-alcoholic drink and remained quiet as she ate by herself staring blankly at the t.v screens that were showing all sorts of sports. Her mind always brought back the scent. She tried to remember what the girl really looked like. Yang had only gotten a quick look at her. Their original stare-off in the alley, probably only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like a century. Yang remembered the girls icy blue eyes, Yang swore they could have produced a stare that would have you frozen you in place. Yet, her face wasn’t picture perfect. There was a crooked looking scar over her left-eye, but to Yang, that didn’t take away from her beauty.

 

Yang quickly shook herself from her own thoughts as she had looked down at her now empty plate. _ I can’t deny she’s gorgeous, but no one up until now had actually caught my eye like she has. She’s basically an aristocrat though. There’s no way a pleb like me would be able to get with her.  _ Yang leaned back in her chair, and pulled out her scroll to blankly look and mess with it.  _ Get with her? The hell am I saying?  _ Yang felt a little bit silly. Never had she been so worked up over someone. All her life she’d known her sister, Junior, and MMA. She never really  _ liked _ anybody. Don’t get her wrong, her little sister was her whole world while Junior was one of her best friends and the chillest of managers. She had never had a crush before. But, was it a crush or just a passing moment? She returned her phone back to her pocket, and slouched in the chair a little more.

 

_ Being a monster does weird things to one.  _ She looked down at her chest, that was fully covered. No glow could be seen, but she could feel the heat in her heart rising. Part of her wanted to see her again, while the other side somehow  _ knew  _ she’d see her again. Yang paid what she owed and left the restaurant. On her way back to her own hotel, she passed by the large hotel once more. She stopped once more in front of its entrance. A new guard had replaced the old one she had noted, but she wasn’t going to try anything. She merely looked passed him, and tilted her head ever so slightly, hoping for a glimpse of her, but in the end there was nothing to be had. 

 

She lightly kicked at the ground, turned and continued on her way back to her room.   

  
  


**Weiss / Vale / Present**

 

Weiss had arrived at her father's hotel two days before, and she was  _ damn _ tired of staying in the hotel. The trip to Vale itself was a bore. She had ridden alone, in the private jet. Her father had failed to tell her that he’d be leaving for Vale several days earlier than her. She also rid the limousine alone that her dad had sent for her. She didn’t understand the need to make everything super fancy and expensive, that was never her. The room she had was on the 7th floor. It was large, a little too large for one girl to be staying in. Of course, her father was on the top floor of the hotel, but it’s not like that mattered. She had been brought to Vale to learn how to properly be a CEO, or grown up, something along those lines well, from what she remembers at least. Though it had seemed her father was always busy. Busy. Busy.

The words echoed in her head, she just wanted to escape. But being a rich man's daughter in an unknown city was something that her father didn’t play around with. She had been kept under surveillance. Not there were any cameras around, but more like she was checked on almost every hour. The need for this made her roll her eyes, she was too old for this. She thought she would have the freedom to explore all of Vale as she had wanted before, but now that was just a failed dream. One that Pyrrha and Jaune would most likely hear about in her return.

 

It was just about that time, as she heard the door knock.

 

“Ms. Schnee? I’m coming in.” a masculine voice could be heard.

 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m here.” she rolled her eyes sitting at the couch, with the T.V on, but the sound low. The man had entered and looked around the room, for anything suspicious.

 

“Everything alright?” he asked.

 

“ Everything would be alright if you stopped checking on me every freakin’ hour!” she exclaimed, slightly throwing her arms in the air.

 

“I’m just following my orders, Ms. Schnee.” he replied.

 

“Can you do me a favor?” she asked.

 

He raised an eyebrow and nodded.

 

“Can you wait  _ two _ hours instead?” she gave her best puppy-dog eyes. “Please?”

 

The man gave in easily and sighed. “All right, but please don’t do anything…” he paused trying to find the right words.

 

“Stupid? Don’t worry. I won’t.” she smiled sweetly and waited for the man to leave. She quickly ran off and had gotten dressed in a cute little sundress she had packed and quickly made her way out of her room for the first time in what felt like forever.

 

She felt free, but as soon as she stepped into the elevator her scroll rang. Her father.

 

“Yes, father?” she answered. “Yes, in a few days you say? Okay…”

 

“I’m not...but I…” she replied, “Please, just a few minutes to myself. No? I’m not a kid, dad!” she quickly hung up and tapped her foot on the floor as the elevator dinged, indicating that they had reached the lobby. The man checking on her had apparently ratted her out, that or her dad has a keen sense of Weiss and her ‘shenanigans’. She was told to turn back, but oh, hell no she was not going to. She walked out of the hotel with her head town, and looked overly interested in her scroll. At the same time, her face had the usual resting-bitchface. Which made her seem, unfriendly.

As she worked through her phone she quickly tried to find Pyrrha in her contacts, she turned a corner towards an alleyway hoping to get away from the small crowd that was now roaming the streets. She had continued to mindlessly walked down the alleyway making another turn towards a dead-end. She did not notice the two thugs creeping up behind her.

 

“‘Ey girlie, looks like you wandered into the wrong part of the neighborhood.” the man with a knife approached her, grinning evilly. “Now, just gimme all your stuff pretty girl and you might make it home in one piece.” he smirked, as the one with the baseball bat started to creep closer to her.

 

“Are you kidding me?” she said in a rather annoyed voice.  _ Of course this would happen to me! Just my friggin’ luck.  _ “Great.” she hissed out.

 

As the men seemed to be approaching, Weiss stepped back.  _ Oh God, I’m so dead. _

 

“Hey!” a feminine voice called out, now drawing the attention of all three of them. Weiss froze in place.  _ Is that? Ohmygosh… _

 

The girl that she had dreamt of for the past few months, the girl that had seemed to lock her way in the back of her head had appeared right before her. The stats on the website definitely weren’t lying either. She was tall, and muscular, her hair was golden and Yang’s scarred hands showed years of experience with fighting - and not just MMA fighting it looked like.

 

The thug with the knife had begun to speak, but Weiss was to caught up in Yang’s aura to even care. It seemed like Yang had returned the same curiosity with Weiss. The two were staring at each other, with an unknown intent; Weiss had felt a sense of familiarity similar as to what Yang had felt. Weiss’s heartbeat began to speed up, their stare off had felt like it lasted a lifetime.

 

The man had grown impatient with Yang, now swinging at her with his knife. Weiss watched in horror, but was relieved to see that the man had missed and only had swiped a piece of her hair. That seemed to be a near-fatal mistake for the thugish duo. Weiss had to get out of there -  _ now. _

 

There was no way she could talk with this girl, not that she didn’t want to, but - the fight or flight system in her had finally turned on and so she fled the scene. Part of her felt bad leaving Yang there to fight on her own, but she knew damn well that Yang was more than enough woman to handle herself in this sort of situation. She heard a small shout coming from Yang. “Hey, I just saved you!” she shouted.

 

Weiss bit her lip as she continued to run back to her hotel, she felt a little guilty. Within almost an instant she had returned to her room - almost out of breath. She ran towards her window and peeked out of it as she now watched Yang leave the area. 

 

Weiss stepped backwards several times only to fall on the couch in the room, still breathing heavily. She wiped her face, but she hadn’t noticed that she had bit her lip so hard that it had begun to bleed as she now saw the blood smeared all over her hand. She hopped up from the couch and walked towards the restroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked pretty rough. 

 

_ What the hell Weiss? She was right in front of you, saved you, and you didn’t even thank her? You’ve been thinking non-stop about this girl and you run! You RUN!?! You are truly the worst kind of fangirl.  _ Weiss washed her face, and cleaned her lip. She returned to the couch she had original plopped herself on and pulled out her scroll and quickly found her original target she had been trying to reach - Pyrrha. She thought about calling, but quickly decided against it. So, instead she texted her.

 

W: “You wouldn’t believe the day I just had.”

 

P: “Anything new? Were you let out of the cage?”

 

W: “More like I escaped, only to get into  _ more _ trouble.”

 

P: “What?!”

 

W: “So, I went outside and almost got mugged and I got saved by...guess who…”

 

P: “Holy crap, don’t tell me.” a few seconds later Pyrrha added. “YANG XIAO LONG??”

 

W: “Ding. Ding. We have a winner.”

 

P: “So, what did you do? Repay your hero with a kiss? ;)” - Pyrrha and Jaune had found out about Weiss’s crush on Yang almost a few days after Weiss’s internet search. Due to Jaune’s curiosity, he had borrowed Weiss’s computer for something and noted that a lot of her recent history searches were a lot of ‘research’ on Yang. Jaune ended up asking about that to which Weiss turned red-faced and admitted to Pyrrha and Jaune that she might of had a crush on this girl. Both of them seemed pretty accepting, though Weiss had expressed how it would be a 1 million to 1 chance that she’d actually meet and passed it off as a mere fangirl crush.

 

W: “Are you freaking kidding me? I freaked out and ran!”

 

P: “...” a pause in the text, then another addition. “You’re not kidding are you?”

 

W: “When do I ever kid?!” 

 

P: “You still gonna watch her fight?”

 

W: “Of course, I wouldn’t miss it.”

 

P: “Hey, you might have a second chance! (:” 

 

W: “I really doubt it…” she clicked her phone and laid back on the couch. She didn’t know what would happen if she had faced Yang again. What was she supposed to say? The girl was probably too busy, regardless. The least Weiss could do was try and apologize.

 

**Mistral Elite Units / Roman / ???**

 

“Good work, fellas.” Roman smirked.

 

“I don’t think we got paid enough for this. What was the point of all that anyways?” the bloodied man asked.

 

“You’re helping us knock down those pesky domino's.” Roman smirked. “Neo?” he called out, as the small girl appeared from the shadow.

 

“Give these men their payments.” he nodded. Neo merely smirked and approached the men, in quite menacing manner.

  
“H-hey, what are you? Oh G-”


	5. Collision

**Yang / Vale / Fight Day**

 

6 AM, her alarm went off. She was already filled with excitement and butterflies. She hopped out of bed and took a morning shower. She thought about the busy day ahead of her as she stood underneath the cold shower. It would be a good wake up call for her. Yang had a usual pre-fight ritual she would undertake. While the fight wasn’t until 4 in the afternoon, she made sure to start the day with a short jog, which in Yang’s terms was a 5km run. Lately, Yang’s run were quite easy. Which was due to the fact she had gained many advantages with her monster prowess. 

 

She had finished with her shower and had gotten dressed to go running, which she had done in about under 15 minutes but not before stretching of course. She had returned to her hotel, and ate a rather hearty breakfast. She ran into Junior at breakfast, who was seeming rather lively as he approached her with a grin. She mustered up a small smile of her own.

 

“Eyyy! How’s my girl?” He sat down across from her, he slammed down his mug of coffee - creating a rather loud clank.

 

“Jeez, Junior - not so loud. We might be awake but there are others who are still sleeping ya’ know.” she commented as she grabbed at a piece of bacon on her plate - now stuffing it in her mouth. The hotel lobby/food area wasn’t filled with patrons, but the ones who were there were old and looked a little bit judgemental.

 

“You ready?” he asked excitedly, completely ignoring Yang's own statement about the sleeping people.

 

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” she said biting into more bacon, a little too nonchalantly. If anything, she knew she had this fight in the bag. She didn’t have to worry, yet part of her felt slightly guilty. She felt almost as if she was cheating in someway. Which, it totally wasn’t her fault that she had been granted these gifts, which she had now called them. She had to make something positive out of it, and calling herself a monster just wasn’t going to work for her psyche about the whole situation. So far, she hadn’t been caught. If anything, she had started to become a little cocky.

 

“All right!” Junior stood up and made his way behind her, patting her on the back with excitement. Yang scrunched her face. A small annoyance ran through her. Maybe she had pre-fight jitters, or maybe it was something a little bit more than that, but it was something she could not necessarily pin-point. “That’s what I like to here, and I can’t wait to call you champ.” he grinned, shooting Yang a wink, now walking away towards the elevators.

 

“You already call me that!” she said back to him as he walked away, she shook her head and rolled her eyes. Yang set her plate aside, and left the table to head back to her room. She would have to prepare her things, and especially herself for the day to come. She packed her duffle bag, and relaxed until about 9 AM until she and Junior had to leave for the arena.

 

The arena itself was far into the city, a series of twists and turns to get there along with a bit of traffic and she and Junior arrived there around 11 AM, about a two hour drive. The city of Signal was a lot bigger than she had originally thought. Much bigger than Patch, and much bigger than she was used to. Even though she had spent sometime in Vale itself, she had only gone out around to explore the city sights that were around her hotel. So, she hadn’t really ventured far from the hotel, only on few occasions. This was her first time actually arriving at the arena.

 

Yang had plenty of time to walk around the arena and the cage she would be fighting in. Luckily, the mundanes weren’t yet allowed in, only the fighters and the working staff who were diligently working to get the final touches in the place. Sports broadcasters were also setting up their cameras for the event to be live-fed throughout Vale, Patch, and the other nations. This was to be one of Yang’s biggest fights yet. 

 

While normally, weigh-ins are the day before a fight - rearrangements for Nora, the opposition stated she could not make it on time. So they would be the day  _ of  _ the fight. Both competitors went to the weigh in. Which gave Yang the chance to scan her opponent, while she fully knew her opponent would do the same. The girl was buff, but stood at a height of 5’7. A little shorter than Yang, but this still gave Yang the slight height advantage. Although, she knew better than to test the underdog. 

 

The girl gave a subtle nod towards her as they both approached each other, eying and sizing each other carefully. There was no malintent in the girls looks, well from what Yang could tell. The smaller girl extended her hand for a shake. Yang did the same, but the girl went past Yangs hand and grabbed her forearm, for a forearm handshake. 

 

“Pleasure to meet you, Yang Xiao Long.” she smiled, the girl, was surprisingly friendly and sounded a little  _ too _ bubbly.

 

Yang returned the smile, “Nice to meet you too, Nora Valkyrie.” 

 

“May you fight well, and fight with the ferocity of a thousand suns!” she tightened her grip on Yang's forearm, as her grin widened. The girls way for words was a little odd. But, Yang knew what she was trying to get at and once again, there was no malintent as the girl had seemed completely genuine. 

 

“And may you fight with quickness of a lightning strike, Ms. Valkyrie.” she returned in the likeness of the odd, yet fun banter. As they had exchanged this interaction, the two had been bombarded with sports photographers, who were taking pictures left and right. The two had kept professional throughout the whole thing, but Yang couldn’t help but feel a little jittery. The two had let go of each other and made their way back to their own locker rooms. 

 

On her way back to the locker room, Yang was constantly followed by reporters and photographers hoping for questions or an interview. At the entrance of the locker room, she gave in and answered several questions. The reporters more or less asked how she thought the fight was going to go, how she viewed her opponent, and other things like her training regime and whether or not she was prepared for the fight itself. She had answered a majority of them with a smile, but as soon as she was alone in the locker room she breathed out heavily.

 

“Jeez, I’ve never had so many interviews or reporters wanting to talk to me.” she muttered to herself. She was glad that she had this moment of peace. “I bet Ruby will love to hear about this.” she smirked to herself now grabbing her things so she could take another shower. She needed to wash the jitters, and the nerves away. Another cold shower would help. She made doubly sure that nobody else was in there and proceeded to shower.

 

As she finished, Yang wrapped the towel around her body and made sure her chest was completely covered. 

 

“Yang, yoooo Yang!” she heard Juniors voice call out.

 

“Junior?” she called from the showers. “I’m, like naked in here. Can you come back later?” she called out.

 

“What? Like I haven’t seen you naked before.” he sounded a little too cocky and confident and by the sound of his voice he seemed to have been approaching the showers.

 

“That was  _ one  _ time. What do you want?” she called out a little angrily.  _ I don’t need you to see me, not like this. _

 

“I’ve just come to tell you that if you’re ready - get your rear in gear because it’s go time!” he proceeded to stop just short of the showers, while Yang had now popped her head out to get a clear look at Junior. She might have been covered in a towel and behind a shower curtain, but she was going to make damn sure that no one would find out.

 

“All right, all right. Just go I’ll be out in a few, I just have to get my stuff together.” Yang called out. Had time really flown that fast? Yang must’ve lost track of the time between the interviews, the pictures, and even the shower. She had done a little before and in between that, which she made sure to keep hydrated as well as well-fed. 

 

“You got it...CHAMP!” he called out, now leaving. Yang listened for the locker room door to close and sighed loudly as he had finally left. 

 

She merely shook her head and got dressed. She wrapped her hands, her feet, and wore an undershirt over her sports bra, and then put on a tight yellow sportswear shirt over it. Last but not least, she wore her favorite shorts. A subtle yellow pair, with flaming dragons wrapping around her legs. She sat down at the benches that were there and took a deep breath. She thought about Ruby, her father, Junior, and...and that girl.  _ Focus Yang! _

She opened her eyes and walked out of the locker room only to be greeted by several staff officials, and Junior that escorted her to the cage. As Yang had approached the cage, she sound of the crowd only grew louder, but that’s not what she was paying attention to. The strong scent had returned, it had filled her nostrils. It was so sweet and intoxicating. She dared not to look around. The heat, sound, and the cheers of the crowd overwhelmed her momentarily.  _ Can’t lose myself here. Not now. Not today. _

 

She entered the cage, where her opponent was already waiting. Nora smiled at her and nodded. Yang put in her mouthguard and took a deep breath - where the smell filled her body once more. The referee had given them a small rundown on the normal rules, regulations, and overall told them to ‘have fun’. The two bumped their fists to each other, indicating some sort of good luck or rather a show of good sportsmanship. 

 

The two stepped back and waited, the fight was then - on. 

 

Yang approached Nora carefully, she had sized her up earlier and got a fairly good reading on her. Nora took the first swing, which caught Yang off guard, yet she was able to roll with the punch which had allowed her to take the hit and not be knocked off her feet. They weren’t kidding when they called her lightning fists. Nora had immediately came in with a slew of punches, Yang had avoided some to the face, but not all. 

 

Though, with no surprise at all to Yang, none of these punches actually hurt. It felt as if she were getting pelted with marshmallows. Yang shook her head, to make it seem as if she were staggering. She had to make everything look real, while at the same time not trying to seriously injure the girl. While she had dealt with thugs before, with barely any strength at all she knew she would have to do just the same for Nora, someone who was an official fighter. Once again, Yang felt a pang of guiltiness because she was just overpowered compared to humans. 

 

Yang had finally retaliated with punches of her own, to which Nora skillfully dodged a few and then, to Yang’s surprise tackled her to the ground in an attempt to pin Yang. The two wrestled on the ground with punches, jabs, and knee jabs flying towards their bodies. 

 

The first round had passed and neither seemed to be wavering, by the looks of it. Throughout the whole fight there was one thing that Yang couldn’t push passed. It was the scent that had constantly filled the air. That was constantly driving her a little bit more, _mad._ But not in the sense she had to beat or hurt someone, but more in the sense in that she had to obtain the source of the scent. Which also led Yang to another conclusion, the girl. The girl was here, watching her fight. She had known this from the beginning, but it had just now occurred to her that she was in the room. Yang just had to win now. While, winning was her original intent it only drove her more because now she wanted to impress. _Agh, Yang. Come on. You’re doing this for you...not for anyone else._ _Okay, maybe a bit for Ruby, but nobody outside of that._

 

The second round was now underway. Yang wanted to end this fast. Nora came through even faster as she now went for a second flurry of lightning fists attack. Yang let all the punches land. The crowd seemed to wild, even Junior himself started to yell loudly at Yang. Yang merely looked up at Nora and smirked, blood was now running down her face from a cut just above her eyebrow. “You’re gonna have to be stronger than that.” she muttered. Yang banged her fists together, as her smirk grew wider.

 

“IT’S THE DRAGON!” Junior yelled out excitedly. 

 

With this sense of excitement Yang was now, what seemed to be flying, towards Nora with a heavy fist. She followed Nora’s movements to a T. Nora’s movement to dodge was to fake left, and duck underneath, but Yang was faster. She had hit Nora square in the jaw, an uppercut. This instantly downed Nora.

 

And so - Yang had won. The crowd went wild. A little rural Patch girl came all the way to Vale and had won. Yang was filled with determination - and excitement. Junior came running in to congratulate her, but all Yang wanted was to leave and find the girl. Her scent was still strong.

 

Yang had quickly asked the officials to let her return to her locker room, she had refused to be patched up and interviewed. She wanted to leave as soon as possible. The officials had cleared the way, to the best of their abilities but the crowd was beginning to become handsy.

 

Everything was going well, up until one voice could be heard - Yang wasn’t sure who or where it came from. She was wasn’t even sure how this information could have been divulged. Yet the words were loud and clear. 

 

“She’s a monster!” someone from the crowd yelled out.

 

“Yeah, a monster of a fighter.” A feminine voice in the crowd called out, jesting back, almost as if they were in defense of Yang.

 

Yang simply ignored the comment, but the crowd grew rowdier. Yang managed to squeeze her way towards her locker room where she shut the door behind her. She took a deep breath, thinking she was safe.

 

She turned and looked up, two officials where there. 

 

“Can I help you?” Yang asked.

 

“Yes, you can. We’d like to check you out, make sure if everything is okay.” one of the officials said. 

 

“I’m fine. It’s just a few cuts and bruises, I’m perfectly capable of handling myself.” Yang responded rather calmly.

 

“That’s not what we meant Ms. Xiao Long.” 

 

Yang eyed the two suspiciously. “What do you two want then?”

 

“We’d like to examine you completely, there have been possible rumors that you’re not who you say you are.”

 

“I’m Yang Xiao Long, I don’t think I could be much clearer than that.” she outspread her arms, motioning towards herself.

 

“We can see that, but may we ask you to remove your clothing?” 

 

Yang stared in disbelief. “You’re joking, right? How do I know you’re not two perverts trying to see me naked?”

 

The two flashed her their badges. “Now, Ms. Xiao Long if you do not comply with us will have to consider this fight disqualified.”

 

“But I already fought and won?” her voice showed signs of irritation and disbelief.  _ I’m so screwed. _

 

Yang proceeded to remove her shirt, all the way to her undershirt, and then to her sports bra. She looked down, slightly ashamed. The glow was now apparent, as were several bruises on her body from the fight she had just had. 

 

One of the officials pulled out a radio. “The man was right, she is one. Bring them in.” To Yang’s surprise, the two seemed quite calm and collected about the fact that Yang was a monster. “Now, Ms. Xiao Long, if you comply with our officers we will make sure you are handled correctly and with manners of utmost respect. If not, well, you’ve seen what happens with monsters on the news.”

 

Yang sighed in defeat, and within a few seconds several officers ran in and grabbed Yang, and cuffed her. Yang remained speechless. This all was happening so fast. But it was strange that she was not apprehended by the Elite Guards of Vale, but instead by regular cops. She was immediately escorted out of the locker rooms.

 

A group of bystanders who had stayed behind now watched in awe as Yang, was in her sports bra, and was glowing - clear as day. She dared not to look at the faces, of her once fans. She could feel their judgmental stares overwhelming her. But there was one fact that still remained, the smell of the girl. She was in the crowd. Watching. Was she disgusted by Yang? 

 

The officers escorted Yang outside, but were slowed by a rather large crowd gathering. News reporters, and all of the likes had now surrounded them as she had stepped out of the building. She made the mistake of looking up and seeing the crowd. 

 

“MONSTER!” she could hear from the crowd, this taunt was mixed with a slew of expletives and even more degrading insults. “Freak!” “Cheater!” were some of the lesser insults thrown at her.

 

“Please, I didn’t...I just want to live a normal life!” she yelled back, now jerking away from the cops. She could feel herself panic. She could feel herself starting to lose control.

 

“Ma’am, we’re gonna have to ask you to stay calm.” one officer pulled her rather harshly, to the point where he had thrown her on the ground. 

 

“Please, n-no..” her heart began to race, everything had started to become so stressful. The officers tried pulling her off the ground now, but she started to retaliate. One pulled out a gun and the whole crowd went wild. Yang could feel her life ending right then and there.

 

“AGH!” the officer with the gun flinched and dropped his gun, the gun fired off as it hit the ground slightly grazing Yang’s arm. The officer had been hit in the head with a rather large rock and was now bleeding, but that was no longer his biggest concern.

 

As he now looked up at the newly transformed Yang. She crushed the weapon underneath her. Her arm was still bleeding, as was her head, it had seemed that wounds transferred over through transformation. She now roared out as she stood on two feet. 

 

“I - I can’t control myself!” she roared out, knowing it would be of no use. The rest of the crowd began to scatter in fear. The officers radioed in for backup and began distancing themselves from her. It seemed like they were having trouble hitting her weak spot, which was still covered by her exoskeleton. Something which the likes of humans had never seen before in a monster. 

 

“I don’t wanna kill anyone…” she roared out desperately as she watched everyone flee. She could feel her humanity slipping as the stress, and the discovery of her true identity now encumbered her every thoughts. She looked down once more and saw that only one person had remained in the vicinity.

 

It was the girl, who seemed to be stunned. 

 

“Please, run…” Yang now landed on all fours. “I don’t wanna hurt you!”

 

“You won’t.” the girl responded.

 

Yang shook her head wildly, as if she was trying to understand what had just happened. “You can understand me?” she asked, now carefully approaching.

“It’s weird, I can...I’ve heard monsters on the news roar, and it’s always been an incoherent roar, but you’re...different. It’s like you’re actually speaking to me.” the girl stood her ground as Yang approached.

 

“Why aren’t you scared? I could kill you...and I don’t want that.” Yang began to snarl, something that was out of her control. Her eyes had begun to dilate. She was now snout to face with the small white haired girl.

 

“I think...I think I can help you.” The girl reached out and petted the snout of Yang, which was missing part of its exoskeleton. Due to the fact that Yang had recently had an unwarranted haircut meant that she would be missing part of her needed armor. 

 

With the girls touch, Yang instantly calmed - regaining her human senses. This feeling of being pet was different. Unlike being pet by Ruby which was rough, and just didn’t feel right at all. But now, Yang felt good almost as if she wanted to submit to the girl right then and there. Yang pressed her snout up against the girl's chest and exhaled deeply. The girl let out a small chuckle and a very heartwarming smile. Yang had finally obtain the scent she seemed to have been pining after. This girl smelled so strongly, and while Yang didn’t want to leave, she knew she had to.

 

“I must go.” Yang stated. “I hope to see you again.” 

 

“You can.” the girl replied. “Run southwest of here. Keeping running until you find a fenced area. Hide in there. That’s my father’s dust mine. It has plenty of land for you to hide in. I will be there in a day or two.”

 

Yang nodded and paused briefly, “Can I ask one thing of you?” 

 

The girl nodded. 

 

“What is your name?”

 

“Weiss Schnee.” the girl commented with a smile. 

 

Yang, feeling satisfied with the name now sprinted off, jumping over buildings, climbing, and generally running in the southwest direction. She could hear the pursuit of the the Elite Guard flyers, but she was faster, stronger and better than them. She knew she could outrun them, and when she found the place she was looking for, hiding would be easier in human form. As long as she kept in the trees. Yang oddly felt good, as if a part of her was now completed. She didn’t even know why she trusted the girl, but something had told her it was going to be okay.

 

**Weiss Schnee / Vale /**

 

Usually a heiress wouldn’t be caught dead in a scene like this. She was surrounded by people clammering to get a good view of the fight. Luckily, she had some pretty good seats. Being rich, did have its benefits, although she wasn’t one to usually take advantage of that she couldn’t help it on a day like today.

 

She watched as Yang Xiao Long had entered the cage. A certain aura was to be had with her. Yang’s massive presence in the cage, had Weiss swooning. The fight had begun and to Weiss it had looked like Yang was getting her ass kicked. “Oh no!” Weiss couldn’t help but yell out, but of course her words of concerned were drowned out by the masses.

 

“Don’t worry about her.” a patron next to her nudged Weiss, in which Weiss turned to her and observed her. A very tall and slender black-haired woman sat next to her, who seemed to be in her mid-twenties. Weiss just raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never seen one of Yang’s fights have you?” she smirked.

 

Weiss shook her head as the match entered the second round. 

 

“Sit down, relax, this is totally Yang’s style.” the black-haired woman grinned. “The real fun is about to begin.” 

 

The two watched as Yang had taken a series of punches, which only made Weiss flinch for her. Yang now smirked rather menacingly as she returned the blows to Nora, now hitting her with an uppercut and knocking her out. Weiss stood up and cheered wildly as did the woman next to her did.

 

Weiss turned to the woman, “That was incredible.”

 

“Yeah, it was. First fight, huh?” she grinned. Weiss nodded. “The names Blake Belladonna. I have to admit, when I saw you, you looked like a sore thumb in here, but then again I look like one too.” she chuckled.

 

“How did I…?” she began and then trailed off.

 

“You’re Weiss Schnee. Heiress of the dust company. You know, I didn’t think you existed, but here you are in the flesh.” Blake commented as they now made their way out of the arena. 

 

Blake and Weiss followed the crowd as Yang seemed to make a dash for the locker room. The crowd was beginning to become a little unruly. 

 

One man had yelled out “Monster!”, which Blake in returned that Yang was one “Monster of a Fighter!” which had caused both Blake and Weiss - and a small crowd around them to chuckle and cheer out.

 

It was only then, a few minutes later a turn of events had completely thrown the two girls off. Yang was in fact, a monster. The two followed the crowd out, they were pushed and shoved and caught in the mess. 

 

“This isn’t real is it? This can’t be happening.” Weiss muttered. She was in complete shock, while it wasn’t necessarily a bad shock. A certain sort of revelation had hit her. She had been wanting to meet a monster, and now someone she had discovered to have a crush on as well as meeting her out of the blue was one. Well, it was a weird chain of events to Weiss.

 

“Think about how she must feel.” Blake commented. “This isn’t fair on her. She just wanted to live a normal life.” 

 

“She looks terrified! I…” Weiss watched as she was tossed to the ground, and began to beg while the crowd continued to insult her. The officer had now pulled out a gun. Weiss quickly reacted by looking at the ground and grabbing a rather large rock that was nearby.

  
  


“Hey, what are you…?” Blake began to interject, but it was too late as with all her strength Weiss lobbed it at the officer, hitting him in the head. He dropped the gun and it went off. 

 

The crowd now scattered, but Weiss remained in place. She watched as Yang transformed right before her eyes. It was an oddly beautiful sight to her.

 

Blake had a strange smile about, her as she didn’t flee straight away. “Go to her, Weiss.” She then jogged away, watching safely from a distance.

 

Weiss didn’t know what she meant, by that but had the intent of trying to at least help Yang.

 

“I can’t control myself!” Yang had called out. The words were as clear as day to Weiss. Was she hearing things correctly? She couldn’t tell. She merely watched as time seemed to have slowed down as she stared at Yang as the crowd around her fled in terror.

 

“I don’t want to kill anyone…” Yang had bellowed out. Yang had now turned her attention to Weiss. It felt as if they were having the same stare-off they had days before. She watched as Yang went on all fours, and had given her a very sad puppy-dog like look. 

 

“Please run, I don’t want to hurt you!” Yang desperately cried out.

 

“You won’t.” Weiss had responded. This had seemed to have caught Yang off-guard. Weiss didn’t understand how she had been able to understand her, yet she did. Weiss wanted to make sure Yang was all right, that’s what she need right? Someone to confide in? Or at least someone to let her know that not everyone was against her.

 

The two had exchanged a peaceful moment. Weiss was approached by Yang as they had continued to talk. Something about all of that had felt so right as Weiss was able to pet her, Yang. Finally, Yang had pressed herself up against Weiss exhaling, a rather warm and homelike feeling ran through Weiss. Weiss felt her chest rise and fall as she took a breath of her own, her chest burned with a certain type of yearning. 

 

Yang said her goodbyes to Weiss, but before she had left, Weiss gave her a general direction towards one of her father’s company. It was a long ways away from the Signal, but held a lot of unused land. 

 

Once more, Yang had turned to leave but then turned her head back towards Weiss.

 

“Can I ask one thing of you?” She said in an unusually calm tone, as if Yang were at peace with herself.

 

Weiss nodded.

 

“What is your name?” she asked.

 

“Weiss Schnee.” Weiss replied feeling an odd sort of confidence. Her name was Weiss Schnee and she had talked to a monster. She had also potentially saved one. She watched as Yang now ran off into the distance.

 

Weiss took a heavy breath and looked around to notice she was about to be flooded around by several news reporters. But she was quickly saved by Blake who had noted the exchange and stuck around for Weiss. Blake quickly pulled her towards the parking lot as they had begun to be followed by several curious reporters.

 

“Miss! Were you afraid of the monster?” one reporter yelled out.

 

“I..” Weiss had begun only to be continuously pulled away by Blake. “What are you doing?” Weiss asked a little concernedly.

 

“We need to talk, and here isn’t a good place.” Blake found her car and both Weiss and Blake had entered. Even though Weiss knew better then to get into cars with strangers she couldn’t help but feel that there was much more to Blake than met the eye. “Buckle up, kiddo.”

 

Blake peeled out of the parking lot, escaping the reporters and all the hubbub that would take place around the arena for the next 48 hours. For the next 10 minutes or the two were oddly quiet as if trying to process what just went on. Weiss finally had decided to break the silence.

 

“Okay, so who are you exactly?” Weiss now couldn’t help but ask.

 

“I’m Blake Belladonna, head of the Justice for Monsters society.” she paused and bit her lip. “Name is still a work in progress though.”

 

“The  _ what? _ ” Weiss shook her head.

 

“I work with monsters. I make sure they’re put in a safe environment. I give them a safe place to stay. Nobody but monsters and their  _ mates _ know we exist. Plus a few unassociated humans, but, I trust those people.” Blake said rather confidently. “I’ve heard promising things about Yang Xiao Long, can you believe that she had saved several others before she even knew herself? It’s funny, because…”

 

“Okay, wait. Am I an unassociated human or something? Why are you telling me all of this?” Weiss interjected, her tone indicating a slight tinge of irritation. Another pause of silence that was held for what felt like minutes on end.

 

Blake looked around, making sure there was a clear parking space. Weiss looked around and noticed the hotel she was staying in was not too far in the distance. Blake must’ve been speeding to get back to Weiss’s hotel. Blake turned to her with a very sly smile. “We’re at your stop.” Blake said, now reaching across her own car to the passenger side to open the door for her and also breaking the silence once more.

 

“Are you not going to answer my question, hello?” Weiss now looked at her searching for some sort of answer.

 

“You already know the answer.” Blake said with another sly smile. “Call me when you’re both ready, okay?” Blake reached into her back pocket pulling out a card. It held very few details, her name and number were the only things on it. “That’s a disposable number. For a disposable phone. I only have a week on it. So, find her and get back to me.” 

 

Weiss just stepped out of the car a little stunned as she took the card. 

 

“Close the door, will you?” Blake asked rather politely. Weiss followed through, still not receiving the answer she wanted from the girl. 

 

Weiss turned around and walked into the building, shaking her head. She was greeted by the guard at the door. She walked towards one of the elevators and immediately got in.

 

She closed her eyes as the elevator went up.

 

_ If I’m not unassociated, then does that make me… _

 

Ding!

 

She had arriven at her floor, still unsure of what that all meant. She exited the elevator and went to her room.

 

_ No, that’s nonsense.  _

 

She entered her room and plopped herself down on the freshly made bed. She felt a certain warmth engulf her body as she had finally relaxed in the safety of her room. But, now there was a certain uneasiness of being alone. She oddly missed Yang. She had only had a small exchange with her, but it felt that they were already so much more. Part of her felt like texting Pyrrha and telling her all about it, but she wanted to keep what she had known forever in some sort of strange secrecy with her forever. Even though, what she had been able to do with Yang was completely in the open.

 

Weiss finally sat up, clutching her chest, where her heart was.

 

_ I’m a mate? _

 

**Roman / ???**

 

“Looks like we found the Mother of the Guardians.” Roman grinned as he watched the mess from afar.

 

“That doesn’t account for the Mother of Berserkers, or the Father of Tacticians.” The mysterious man replied.

 

“You were the one who set this whole thing up, you know they’ll lead us right to them.” Roman smirked. “Fate works in funny ways, especially when you’re the one pulling the strings.”

 

“Yes, but this is for the greater good. Remember that Roman.” the man replied. 

  
“Oh, I will…” he grinned evilly. 


	6. One Ups

**Weiss Schnee / Vale**

 

Weiss had been stuck in bed for the past day or two. She had been waiting to leave for her father’s company who had been constantly letting her down. The other day, when her father had called her and had caught her leaving the hotel he had claimed that they were going to leave for the company - she had been promised, but was shown nothing. Instead, Weiss was able to make the most of it, which she had done just exactly that. Without her father's guidance and her friends near to keep her in check, she had been on what she considered for herself a ‘wild and crazy’ adventure. 

 

She had constantly been thinking about Yang as the day had passed. In fact, the day before, the day after the run-in with Yang she had texted Pyrrha almost all day to discuss the events.

 

**[Yesterday’s Texts and Events]**

 

W: “You’re not gonna believe the day I had yesterday.”

 

P: “Oh, I think I’ll believe you. It’s all over the friggin’ news.”

 

W: “Wait, what? Are you for real?” Weiss now made her way to the T.V in the room, and turned onto the news.

 

P: “Yep, I can’t believe that Yang was a Monster! And she had walked up to you!”

 

Weiss watched a little bit of the news before replying back to Pyrrha. It was somewhat of a shoddy shot, actually it was somewhat of several shoddy shots, but several had been taken and recorded of Weiss and Yang making contact. One newscaster coined the quote, “Friend or Foe?” while proceeding to talk about the two of them. Luckily, Weiss wasn’t initially identified in the reports. She was just known as the ‘brave girl’, some even had romanticized the encounter with calling Weiss ‘Beauty’ and Yang ‘The Beast’. Whatever they called her, she really didn’t care as long as they didn’t reveal who she really was.

 

Either way, the attention concerned her. Mostly due to her father being a little overprotective, well mostly since her sister’s freak accident. Something that she push into the deepest depths of her mind. Something she did not like to think about. Something that…

 

Her phone notification went off.

 

P: “Helloooo, anyone home?” Ding! “You don’t wanna talk about this?” Ding! “Just let me know, I’m here for you! :)”

 

Weiss quickly picked up her phone and replied to the messages.

 

W: “No, no you’re fine. We can talk. I was just watching the news.” She turned down the sound to the T.V laid back.

 

P: “So, can I get the real 411 from the person who was actually there?”

 

W: “Yeah, what do you want to know?”

 

P: “Was it scary? It looked like you were mouthing something, what were you saying? How was the fight? I’ll start with those for now.”

 

W: “The fight was awesome, Yang won, obviously. It wasn’t scary, it actually seemed...normal. I was just talking to her, it was weird because I could understand her when nobody else could.” she paused thinking about typing more, she wanted to admit to Pyrrha that somehow her and Yang were mates. Whatever that meant. “I also met this other girl, her name was Blake, she was apart of this society or something.”

 

P: “Like a cult?”

 

W: “No! It was more like she was someone who helps people like Yang.”

 

P: “So, monsters? Can she be trusted?”

 

W: “Yeah, I think so. She knew who I was before I even told her. She knew who Yang was too, said that Yang had helped out monsters before she even knew she was a monster herself.”

 

P: “Sounds interesting. I’m curious though, how much does she know about monsters? Maybe she’s like you! A total crazed monster researcher!”

 

W: “Hey! I’m not crazed, just enthusiastic. Besides, her little society may lead me to even more monsters, then I’ll totally get to the bottom of this!”

 

P: “Just don’t get yourself hurt, or...worse.”

 

W: “I won’t. I’ll be careful.”

 

P: “Promise?”

 

W: “Promise!” 

 

P: “Just let me know if you need anything. Jaune and I are on standby. 8)”

 

W: “Thanks, I miss you guys and I’ll maybe see you two soon!!” 

 

Weiss put her phone away and sighed a sigh of contentment. This whole trip wasn’t entirely going into shambles. She had Pyrrha and Jaune looking out for her. Plus, this whole mystery Blake girl brought along more questions than answers which, to Weiss, was sometimes a good thing to be had. Plus, she had met Yang. A girl she had somehow had a weird fangirl crush, only to actually be able to meet her - well, she hadn’t been able to entirely meet her. Their run-ins with each other were very short, not very sweet, but almost both times to-the-point. She had soon hopped that with their next run-in, or well, meet up that they’d be able to chit-chat. But - what even about? Weiss tried not to get too lost in her thoughts for the rest of that day.

 

She soon went back to texting Pyrrha, to distract herself. She had recently learned that Pyrrha, had asked out Jaune on a date. Which had Weiss internally ‘hooraying’ for the girl. Pyrrha always had guts, but when it came to asking out guys, Weiss knew she was a weenie. She was just glad to see that her friend was taking a chance with her other best friend. She just hoped that if she did go back, that she wouldn’t be an awkward third wheel. This had brought her back to the thought of Yang. Maybe she didn’t entirely have to be a third wheel. The day itself quickly passed as she had only gone out of her room to leave the eaten meals outside, that she had been brought by the hotel staff to indicate she had finished. Once more, the last thing on her mind as she had ended the day in bed - was Yang Xiao Long. 

 

**[Back to the Present]**

 

Weiss opened her eyes and checked the time.  _ I must’ve fallen asleep. _ It was around 3 in the afternoon and she was hoping something or other would happen. Her wish must’ve been heard as there was a knock on the door.

 

“Ms. Schnee?”

 

_ Oh, it’s my look out guard. Surprised I didn’t hear them while I was asleep. I’m either used to this, or they’re getting better at their job. _

 

“Yes?” she answered.

 

“We have a limousine out front for you. You are to go to your father's company today. He is waiting for you.”

 

“He is?” she perked up, quickly straightening out her clothing as she got up from her napping place, the good ol’ couch.  _ Finally, I’ll get to see him. _

 

With a hurried pace Weiss opened the door with a sweet smile and looked at the guard. He returned a smile then led her down into the lobby, then out front where the limo laid in wait. The chauffeur was outside, waiting for Weiss’s arrival. He tipped his hat and opened the door, which she politely smiled to.  _ I can get the door myself, y’know.  _ “Thank you.” she said and got into the limo.

“Father?” she called out as the door closed behind her. She looked around the empty limo. No one.  _ Typical. _

 

The chauffeur entered the driver's seat and looked back. “I’m sorry, Ms. Schnee. Your father told me to tell you he would meet you there. In that, he already is there. There seems to be a problem at the company.”

 

Weiss tilted her head curiously. “What’s going on?”

 

The chauffeur had begun to drive, it would be quite the drive. A two hour ride, she would end up getting there quite late, around 5 PM.

 

“Apparently there are Elite Guards around the area.” 

 

“What?” Weiss sounded a little worried.

 

“Oh, it’s no worries Ms. Schnee. They think the monster that escaped the other day may be hiding out. You know, Ms. Schnee, it’s funny the girl who was on the news looked a little like you.”

 

Weiss froze momentarily. “Uhh, yeah. That is funny. I might have doppleganger in town. This is a huge city.”

 

“Huge indeed.” he chuckled.

 

The two had made some chit chat here and there. Commenting on the city, its people, and the overall atmosphere that it gave off. Weiss tried to ignore the fact, that in the back of her mind, that Yang could possibly be in trouble if those guards came searching for her. She was still moderately surprised at the fact that she hadn’t been recognized, yet. Weiss had eventually dozed off after the chatter between the two had died off. She dreamt of Pyrrha, Jaune, and of course Yang. It was a good dream - a happy one. One that she was soon to be awoken from as her body had woken her up. That, and the chauffeur was calling her name in a gentle tone.

 

“Ms. Schnee…” He said, though, Weiss wasn’t sure how many times her name had been called, only that they were already near the front of the company which was gated around. Weiss awoke even faster, as her blinking became a little more rapid. She noted the amount of news reporters, and even some police cars surrounding the outside of the gated area. She was grateful that the windows were tinted. This was not the kind of attention she liked. But, it’s not like they were there for here. 

 

The driver approached the man guarding the gate, who nodded towards the driver and let them in with ease. Weiss sighed. At least, this part was easy. The road to the company was several miles down the road, the surrounding area was wooded - about 50 or more acres were to be had that were uninhabited. The Schnee’s might have been well-known moguls, but they (mostly her father) weren’t entirely heartless. Weiss sighed once more, she had a feeling Yang was safe - for the most part.

 

The driver had sped up to get to the parking lot of the company, and the overall dust mine that was several miles from the main building. In about 10 or so minutes they had approached the parking lot. Yet, a good portion of the lot was being taken by an Elite Guard flyer from Vale. The commanding guard seemed to be in a heated argument with Weiss’s father.

 

As soon as the limo was parked she quickly hopped out of the limo and walked towards her father.

 

“No, you may not! How many times might I repeat myself?” Walter snarled.

 

“This is a search for the monster! We are here for  _ your  _ safety, Mr. Schnee!” The Commander commented. 

 

“I am in no danger! This Monster is nothing more than a mere figment of your imagination! Get off my land, unless you intend on working for me.” He continued to fume.

 

“A mere figment? Sir, have you been paying attention to the news?” He looked at Walter, then towards Weiss who had approached moments before. He did a double take. “You!” he claimed towards Weiss.

 

Weiss froze, but then shook it off and smiled. “Yes?” she answered.

 

“You...you look just like that girl.” The commander had approached her in a rather menacing manner.

 

“Stay away from my daughter! Weiss, I’ll take care off this. Run along now.” her father demanded.

 

Weiss shook her head and walked away, as she was walking away she looked back and noted her father pulling the commander away from the building and back towards the flyer. The Commander turned his head and took one last look at Weiss, as she did the same to him. She didn’t find it useful to argue with her father in such a situation. She was more than capable about handling herself, but this was neither the time or place to worry about defending herself when she had more important matters at hand - Yang.

 

The sun would be setting soon. She had to find Yang, and fast. She looked back at her father one last time, he was distracted. Which was all she needed. As she had looked towards the wooded area, she fast walked to the best of her abilities. She didn’t know where she was going to head, but the direction she was going in - just felt right. 

 

As she had approached the outskirts of the forest she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“Ms. Schnee?” a male voice had called out.

 

Weiss jumped a little, and turned. “Ahh!” she muttered out, a natural reaction to being snuck up on.

 

“I apologize for startling you. I just thought to let you know that I am here to help.” he gave her a friendly smile and a bow.

 

“T-thank you. Mr…”

 

“Mr. Port.” he bowed once more, and left Weiss to her own devices.

 

Weiss nodded and ran off into the forest. She found it to be odd that her driver had followed her. She had only known him for a small amount of time, but he was in no way someone who seemed to be the deceiving type. He seemed beyond his years, although he was quite...portly and old himself, he seemed to be wise in ways Weiss was unsure of.

 

Weiss tried her best to navigate through the forest, the deeper she ran in, the darker it had grown. Yet, there was a feeling in her chest that told her she was headed in the right direction. She hadn’t known how far she had gone. She only knew that if she looked around that there would be no clear direction to go. She continued to run and run. Until she saw a faint glow in the distance. The only thing she could be sure of.

 

“Y-Yang?” she called out. She jogged towards the glow. The area she approached was cleared of trees, several had been knocked down and were surrounding the glow. Weiss climbed over the trees and noted a makeshift tent out of several large tree. She looked as she had saw Yang, half-conscious on the ground and still in her fighting gear from days before.

 

“Yang!” she now kneeled besides the yellow-haired girl. Her body was covered in bruises, scrapes, and several bumps. Her breathing was light and airy. Weiss ran her hand along the girl's hair as now sat next to her, trying now to gently wake her.

 

“Weiss, is it?” Yang mumbled out as she now turned to face Weiss, as she seemed to become more coherent and aware of her surroundings. Yang’s own face was covered bruises, her eye was black and swollen. “I guess we’re even. Well, more like I owe you my life now.” she managed a small grin.

 

Weiss merely smiled and shook her head. “No, no. You don’t owe me anything. We need to get out of here, Yang. There are guards looking for you.”

 

Yang slowly brought herself up, now sitting up. To Weiss, she was  _ huge _ . Weiss now noted just how fit and toned she was up close. Her body might’ve been covered in bruises and scrapes but that didn’t take away from Yang’s beauty or intimidation. Weiss slowly scooted away, trying not to make it obvious but played it off as if she were trying to give Yang space.

 

“Where am I supposed to go?” Yang sighed out, almost as if she was trying to catch her breath from just sitting up.

 

“You can...come with me. I think I know a place.” Weiss remembered Blake and her offer from the other day. Whether Blake could be trusted or not, well, only time could tell. But for now, it was Yang’s only option as far as it looked like.

 

Yang nodded, though a sense of uncertainty arose from her. 

 

“Are you okay to walk?” Weiss asked cautiously.

 

“Yeah, just gimme a second.” Yang stretched her neck and took a deep breath. She slowly stood up and towered over Weiss, who soon stood up following Yang. Now that Yang and Weiss were face to face for what felt legitimately the first time. The two momentarily stared at each other. Weiss was a tiny force of nature, but she felt miniscule - yet safe - when staring at Yang. _ She’s a lot prettier than pictures give off. Her eyes are a beautiful shade of lavender. Wait, this isn’t the time to be thinking about this sort of stuff. _ The two blushed with the eye contact they made and looked away from one another, embarassed. 

 

“L-let’s get going.” Weiss stated in a hurried tone and led the way, she looked around. “Crap.”  _ I’m so lost. _

 

“You don’t have a clue where we’re going, do you?” Yang commented, now standing behind Weiss who was looking around in several different directions. Weiss shook her head.

 

“Were you followed?” Yang now asked eying the distance. 

 

“W-what?” Weiss now looked ahead and noticed the light of the flashlight. Weiss quickly removed the jacket she had worn that day and handed it to Yang, it was far too small for the buff girl but it would have to do for now. “Just hide yourself with this.”

 

Yang caught the small jacket. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?” she whisper-shouted.

 

“Ms. Schnee?” A familiar voice had called out.

 

“Mr. Port?” Weiss called back. The guy was strange, but she should’ve known he would’ve came after her.

 

He came out from the darkness, with a flashlight shining in their face. Yang scowled and made a low hiss. 

“No, Yang it’s all right.” she reached behind her and grabbed Yang’s hand and squeezed. A sudden burst of warmth was transferred. 

 

“Okay.” Yang suddenly seemed calm and worriless. 

 

“Ahh, I found you. This is good news!” Port had commented.

 

“How did you even find me?” Weiss asked curiously.

 

“Boy scouts, Ms. Schnee.”

 

Weiss and Yang just shrugged at the comment. 

 

“Y-you’re not here for Yang, are you…?” Weiss now cautiously asked. She had to protect Yang, it was almost as if every fiber of her being wanted Yang to be safe, sound, and with her.

 

“Oh, no Ms. Schnee. Ms. Belladonna told me about the encounter she had with you.” he stated with a polite smile.

 

“Bella...OH!” Weiss snapped her fingers. “Blake, right? How...what?” Weiss just shook her head in confusion.

 

“We have our ways, Ms. Schnee. We will make sure you and Yang make it out of here safely. Now if you will, follow me. We have the advantage of the night. Let us make haste.” With that he turned in the direction he came from.

 

The duo followed behind Port as best as they could. Yang stayed quiet throughout the whole thing probably trying her hardest to focus on being conscious. Weiss was completely surprised how resilient Yang was. She had been in a fight, then her body had been overcome with stress, not only that she managed to survive in a forest for about two days with no supplies. Of course Yang wasn’t human, but she was to Weiss.

 

After what felt like an eternity of walking they exited the thick forest. It was still dark, probably late night now. The three of them continued to walk down the road, away from the Company. The moonlight had shone on it, the lights were bright, and the parking was filled with it’s usual amount of cars. The flyer from earlier was the only thing now missing. Weiss was now able to take a good look at Port, he wasn’t in a suit or tie any longer. He looked like a regular old man.

 

“Where are we going?” Weiss asked. 

 

“I parked the car a bit a ways from the company. We are no longer riding in style, but Ms. Schnee we will be less conspicuous going to where we are going.”

 

“Where exactly are we going?” she asked as they approached a truck, that looked rather rough and if anything, didn’t look to work too well. To Weiss’s surprise the only thing that only looked legitimate where the windows. They were tinted.

 

“To the base!” he said as the three girls now packed into the truck, there was a little space in the back. It looked like it could only fit a small child. Neither, Weiss or Yang dared to sit in such a small space so the two of them sat in the front with Port. Weiss took the center seat, being the smallest allowing Yang for the greater leg space.

 

Port had started up the truck and left the premises, leaving the gated area and now driving away from the city even more. Weiss watched Yang, whose head was leaning against the window. She looked worn, beaten, and had an aura about her that showed how stressed she was. Yang then leaned her head back against the seating and closed her eyes. 

 

The two hadn’t known each other for very long, and Weiss wasn’t usually a very touchy or intimate person. Though there was something about Yang that made Weiss want to hold her and let her know that everything would be okay. Yang still wore Weiss’s too small jacket which made her smile, but only a little. Weiss now looked down at Yang’s hand, almost instinctively she put her hand over Yang’s. 

 

Yang slowly looked down at Weiss, but neither of them pulled away. She only leaned her head back and turned her hand over, so now Weiss could properly intertwine their hands together, which she did so. Another burst of warmth encumbered her body. She felt good and safe. She looked over at Yang’s chest, noting the soft glow. It seemed like a rather peaceful glow to her. 

 

With that, Weiss leaned her head on Yang’s arm, and dozed off.

 

**Yang / Vale**

 

Yang’s escape was a great one. She had jumped over highways, and buildings to leave the city. She soon was surrounded by trees as she had almost flown through the air. She felt, good, but at the same time she could feel her body weakening. As she ran, she thought of Weiss. Part of her wanted to act as if Weiss was leading her into a trap, but the other half knew that there was no malicious intent to be had with Weiss. She seemed too peaceful, too secure. Something Yang didn’t know about.

 

Almost as if her body had begun to shut down, she felt herself momentarily lose herself. It was a good thing she had passed a gated area not too long ago, and the fact that she was now surrounded by a heavy wooded area. She landed in heavily forested area and thought it’d be wise to cut down a few trees for her own ground protection. The forest was thick enough that a few downed trees didn’t seem unusual for anyone in the air. She finished up the job quickly only to feel her sanity slowly drop. She transformed into human form and immediately threw up, off to the side. She wiped her mouth.

Her body was incredibly stressed. It was good that Yang was skilled enough to control her transformations, or else she would’ve immediately turned back into a monster and lost all control. 

 

She had crawled in between the trees, almost like a makeshift nest, or tent. She laid down on the hard ground. Her body was heavy, as were her eyes. Everything about her ached. She needed sleep. As Yang slowly drifted off to sleep, she had a hope, that Weiss would come and save her once more. 

 

A hope that soon turned into a dream come true. 

 

She had heard her name being called out, but was unable to respond to it. How many days had it been since she moved from that spot? One or two days, she might’ve lost, but Yang wasn’t entirely sure.

 

She heard her name being called out once more. She felt a soft hand run against her face and hair, as she was touched it was almost like she had been given the touch of life as she had regained a rather good sense of composure. She turned to face her. It was Weiss. Just as she had hoped.

 

“Weiss, is it?” her throat hurt as she spoke, but she was lucky and thankful to be alive. “I guess we’re even. Well, now more like I owe you my life now.” Yang grinned, she would’ve laughed too, but her throat was dry.

 

The two continued to chat, as Yang soon expressed her worry about where to go next, Weiss had a plan. Yang wasn’t in the condition to protest, and even if she was she had no reason not to trust Weiss. So far, Weiss had been good on every word she had said. Yang merely nodded as Weiss spoke. Yang momentarily remembered their first run in where she originally thought Weiss to be somewhat snobby or uncaring. She had been completely wrong. Another thought hit Yang, but this one hit her hard. Ruby. Ruby had probably seen everything on the news. 

 

“Are you okay to walk?” Weiss asked, sounding concerned.

 

“Yeah, just gimme a second.” she had to make it through this before worrying about Ruby. If anything Ruby was safe...but would Yang be able to see her again? She stretched her neck trying to get rid of the thoughts then took a deep breath. Yang stood up and noticed just how much taller she was then Weiss. She scanned Weiss, her eyes, her hair, even her scar was perfect to Yang. Yang blushed and looked away almost at the same time Weiss did.

 

They stepped out from the trees only to stop, they were lost. Yang wasn’t going to give Weiss any flack about it, but they did need to get out of there somehow.

 

Yang spotted a light in the distance, she immediately grew defensive as she heard Weiss’s last name called out. She had asked Weiss if she was followed, but even Weiss was unaware of what was happening. Weiss had handed her jacket over to Yang, asking her to cover herself. The jacket was far too small, but Yang attempted anyways. The jacket itself was covered with Weiss’s scent. Yang wore it purely for this reason alone. Once more, Yang grew defensive. 

 

Weiss had apparently known the person who was coming, with a quick squeeze she felt on her hand, Yang had instantly calmed down. Another touch of life, so it seemed.

 

The two had chatted, which Yang more or less spaced out to. She caught a few things out of the conversation, like the name Blake. She had momentarily wondered who this person was, but as soon as she did the group started to walk out of the forest. Yang kept quiet. Her throat was sore, her body ached, and all she could think about was passing out, but she knew better than that.

 

They soon stepped out into an open area. The moon could be seen, as could a building in the distance. She didn’t bother with it and continued to follow Weiss and the man, Port - was it? To the truck. 

 

Weiss had stepped in first and Yang had taken the passenger seat. Her body sunk in the seat, and she sighed heavily to herself. As the truck moved she leaned her head on the window, looking blankly ahead.  _ Ruby, I’m sorry. I thought I would be able to come back home. It looks like I won’t be able to see you any time soon. I messed up, I’m so sorry… _

 

She shifted her position and leaned her head against the chair. She closed her eyes. She felt a hand land on her own, she looked down and noticed Weiss had placed her hand over Yang’s. She didn’t want to pull away. She needed this. She needed this comfort, if only for the moment. It was better than being lost alone in her thoughts. Yang had felt as if she failed herself, and failed her sister. Yang leaned her head back, and turned over her hand so it would be palm-up. Weiss now intertwined her fingers with Yang. She felt peaceful once more. Why did this girl give her these feelings that she had never felt before? In this moment of peace and respite, she felt happy. She had never felt these feelings with anyone else. She wouldn’t question them, for now. She still had a lot to learn about this girl. This girl she had become scarily connected to in just a couple of days. But, she dare not think of things now. She needed this rest, this moment.

 

With that, she had dozed off - but not before feeling Weiss rest herself against Yang’s arm which Yang contentedly sighed to.

 

**Roman / ??**

 

“Why weren’t we notified before?” The man through the phone sounded a little bit angry.

 

“Not everyone needs to know. Nor does everyone agree. But it’s for the greater good of the people.” Roman replied.

 

“My higher-ups will hear about this!” the man angrily stated.

“Oh, you think  _ they _ don’t know already? They’re the ones who agreed to this!” Roman replied calmly.

 

“W-what? I! Goodbye, and good day to you sir!” the phone clicked without allowing Roman to respond in kind.

 

“Doesn’t he know that the more people that know the messier this procedure gets?” Roman sneered.


	7. Monsters: Velvet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you know how RWBY has those Remnant History lessons aka filler episodes? Well, this chapter is like that. I will have more of these with people like Blake, Port, and other 'supporting characters' I'll introduce. This is basically to show how these characters got to the places they are now. How they met their LI, or another character (Like how she met Yang and Ruby for instance in this chapter.) I also just wanted to give a background to the supporting characters so I feel as if they're not just 'there'. I think. Hope you guys enjoy.

**Velvet Scarlatina / Several Years ago / Patch**

Her mother was the type of person to always tell her to never to talk to strangers, especially not online. That had never kept Velvet from doing what she loved, photography blogging and video games! She was just a normal girl, with normal wants, needs, and hopes. At 14 years of age, she knew she was only at the start of her life, but she couldn't help but spend those years of her life alone.

Her parents meant well, but she had never connected with them. The only connection she ever felt was with her little pet rabbit, Leeroy. He was a decently sized rabbit, his colors were almost like a calico's with browns and little hints of orange here and there. Life for her was at a stagnant point, but it was a point she didn't mind. She was content.

With her photography skills she had run a blog, mostly pictures of the outdoors and her own pet rabbit, who she had occasionally let roam free. He always seemed to come back to her. At times, she would roam the open fields near her house. Her parents own a small farm. It had cows, pigs, a few chickens and of course Leeroy! She would take pictures of all of them and upload them onto her blog when she got the chance. Which was rarely. She never had a good internet signal, so she would spend most of her time at the cities coffee shop which of course offered free wifi.

About several months later her trips to the coffee shop would come to an almost halt. As her parents had sold the small amounts of farmland they had owned in order to move into the city. The apartment they had now owned wasn't very quaint. Well, not to Velvet standards. She missed open area, the animals she had owned, and if there was only two lucky things to come out of moving to the city it was that she got to keep Leeroy and that their apartment now granted better access to wifi.

Soon enough with the better wifi, Velvets blog became a big hit - well, online. She was contacted by people online who were fans of her work, they chatted her up and some wanted to get to know her. Although she was in a new photography setting, this new setting had opened up new possibilities for her kind of work. She had made several friends through this, and even had a few people confess their love for her. As she had not only posted pictures of her work, but occasionally of herself - to which she had plenty of admirers that she did not care for in the same way.

At the same time, Velvet had begun to play an online mmorpg - World of Grimmcraft. She had made a bunny like character, with a rogue aspect. Throughout the game she had joined a guild by the name of Caffeine. While their members were few, she had made good friends with all of them. Especially their guild leader, Divaadel. Who was in real life known as Coco Adel, someone who Velvet had become very close to in a short amount of time.

Back and forth the two would constantly chat with one another, even into the late nights. The two had managed to create a strong guild. While at the same time, Velvet shared her works with Coco, which Coco seemed to love. The two also exchanged pictures from time to time. Coco lived in Vale, she was fairly wealthy and although she had a hankering for nice and expensive clothing that didn't make her a snob or rude by any means. Coco expressed to Velvet that she admired Velvets taste in life. Although slightly opposite, the two seemed compatible.

Her parents had told her better, she was young, but so was Coco who was 17 when they had met. Velvet was now 15, and would be 16 in a few weeks, and within a short amount of time Velvet and Coco's friendship had begun to blossom into something bigger than Velvet had imagined. No longer did Velvet feel a sense of loneliness. She had Leeroy, and now Coco. Velvet could only hope that within soon time the two would meet.

Velvet's hopes became true as Coco had made plans to visit Patch, purely for the sake of Velvet and her upcoming birthday. While it was just a visit, this had excited Velvet for the first time in her life.

Those few weeks had passed and Coco had landed in Patch, the day before her birthday. Velvet had already taken a bus ride to the airport to which Coco landed at. She went alone, as she considered herself mature enough to do so. She also hadn't mentioned to her parents that she had met Coco on an online game, and that she was to stay the week with them. What she had mentioned is that Coco and her had become friends through a pen pal system their school had.

Velvet watched as Coco had made her appearance. She was tall, taller than Velvet had expected for a 17 year old girl. She was even prettier in person too. Her short brown hair, was accompanied by a cute hat, and even the highlight of orange on her hair was deemed cute by Velvet. Coco's wear was just as fancy as Velvet had expected, everything she wore look like it costed more than Velvets entire wardrobe. Coco carried a bag and a big grin as her eyes met with Velvets. Well, it was hard to tell if Coco was actually looking at her due to the rather large aviators she wore constantly.

Either way, Velvet had an inkling of a feeling that the smile was in fact directed towards her. Which, she couldn't help but smile back.

The two now approached each other. Velvet looking up, while Coco now looking down at her. Velvet wasn't that much shorter, but she didn't mind the height difference.

"Velvet?" Coco said with a grin, now removing the aviators from her face and placing it on her shirt.

Velvet returned the grin with an even wider one. Without saying another word the two embraced for a hug. Velvet felt the sudden warmth within the girls embrace. A feeling she had never gotten before, but, wanted more of. It was a good embrace, not too short, but not too long either. Yet, the hug itself could have implied that there was something going on between the two to the passerbyers. "Hello Coco." Velvet finally had said as the hug had been broken between the two.

"This is exciting!" she grabbed Velvet by the hand and dragged her along to the baggage claim area. Velvet wasn't exactly a people-person but there was a feeling she couldn't help but have whenever she had spoken to Coco, or even thought about her - Happiness. Coco had friends at school, but she always prefered to spend time alone caretaking to the class pet that they had.

"You're a lot taller than I expected." Velvet commented, happily walking next to her.

"And you're a lot shorter, kid." she grinned.

Velvet mocked a pout, but it was a thing between the two of them - being called kid that is. In the game the two had played together, Velvet was the youngest in all of the guild. So, Coco had begun to call her 'kid'. Velvet took it well, and so did the rest of the guildmates. Therefore she was known as 'kid' to them all.

The two stood together waiting for the baggages to come around, they made a little more small chat and proceeded to head to the bus stop.

"So, am I going to meet your infamous Leeroy?" Coco asked.

Velvet nodded. "I think you'll like him. Super fluffy and sweet. He'll probably like you too."

"Oh, is it because I'm super fluffy and sweet too?" Coco joked.

"Mm. Something like that." Velvet chuckled out.

The two giggled at their own banter. Normally Velvet wasn't quick to make friends, now while Coco was not new to her, the presence of someone she hasn't met up front before could've been considered completely intimidating. Though, to Velvet, Coco was the least intimidating person she had met.

As the two made their way back to Velvets house, they continued to chat and flirt along the way. It was clear to see the two were more than just smitten with one another. Even their guildmates had made jokes about the two of them getting together. Which, Velvet never protested to and neither did Coco.

The two finally pulled up near Velvet's apartment as the bus had dropped them off, her parents, to her luck were not home at the time. She felt a small fear in the back of her mind. What if Coco didn't like her house? Coco knew that Velvet wasn't the richest, but she couldn't help but want to impress her - even if she knew that Coco wasn't that sort of person.

"Home sweet home." Velvet commented as she unlocked the front door. The apartment itself had a downstairs and an upstairs. Velvet lived upstairs, while her parents room was down stairs. The apartment wasn't too big, but not too small. Downstairs, was the kitchen, the living room, her parents bedroom, and an office space. While upstairs there was Velvets room, bathroom included, and an open area where Leeroy was kept in a rather large cage as well as her computer off to the side.

"Cute place!" Coco commented with a smile. She was genuine in her words. This had put Velvets heart at ease as she now smiled back at her.

"I'll show you my room." Velvet led the way upstairs as they made her way to her room passing by Leeroy. Which Coco took a hearty glance at and then continued to follow Velvet.

Velvets room wasn't the biggest, but it had enough space for another person, which was all that mattered at the moment. "You can set your stuff down anywhere." Velvet gestured around.

Coco nodded and set her stuff down near Velvets bed. The two then smiled and nodded at each other, fully knowing what was to come next - Leeroy!

Velvet led the way out of the room, as Coco followed once more to the open area. Leeroy hopped along in his cage. The cage itself resembled a very large, two story like house, meant for rabbits of course.

"He _is_ cuter up close." Coco now sat in front of the cage, Velvet went to open the cage. "The pictures don't do you any justice, Mr. Leeroy." Coco commented. Leeroy hopped towards Velvet and straight into her arms. Velvet proceeded to lightly pet him behind the ears, to which he happily purred to - this action was normally hard to hear, but Velvets oddly good hearing could easily pick it up. Coco watched their interaction carefully and smiled.

Velvet let Leeroy down onto the floor and watched as he hopped around. He noted Coco in the room and proceeded to move towards her. Coco slowly outreached her hand as Leeroy approached. He then proceeded to rub his chin on Coco's hand.

"Huh…" Velvet said in a tone of confusion.

"He must like me, huh?" Coco grinned.

"Like you? He considers you family!" Velvet said in an a tone of disbelief.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that he normally never warms up to people this quickly, not even my parents. He rubbed his chin on you, marking you as territory - or family." Velvet's tone still indicated surprise.

Leeroy had begun to run around and dance in between Coco and Velvet. Almost as if he was approving of the two as family.

"Stay right there." Velvet quickly got up, and disappeared into her room while Leeroy and Coco had begun to bond a little more.

Velvet returned with her camera to the scene of Leeroy sitting in Coco's lap comfortably being pet by her. Velvet maneuvered herself to grab the perfect picture, with good lighting and an even greater atmosphere. The picture she had captured even impressed her, as she now looked at it on her camera. She smirked to herself, it captured the liveliness of the two, as well as an aura of happiness that seemed to radiate off the two.

"Awh, lemme see." Coco called out, as she dared not to move from her positioning with a cute and relaxed rabbit now resting on her lap.

"Not yet." Velvet smirked, now continuing to capture a few more pictures. Coco couldn't help but chuckle.

"What am I, your new muse?" She teased Velvet.

"Would you like to be?" Velvet lowered the camera as she now brought her full attention towards Coco. There was an undeniability that Coco was gorgeous - well, to Velvet at least. Any sort of lighting, atmosphere, and setting would've complimented Coco.

Coco momentarily blushed, as she was only joking but she could tell from Velvets tone that she was completely serious. For Velvet, this was an opportunity she could not put aside, even if Coco was only here for Velvets birthday this in itself was a good enough birthday present for her.

Coco regained her composure. "I mean, if that's what you want kid." She regained her bravado.

Velvet grinned widely and nodded, but for now pleasantries would have to be put to a pause. The sound of an unlocking door brought the girls back to reality. Velvet quickly scooped up Leeroy from Coco's lap, who seemed to be protesting at this action by wiggling a little too much. She closed the cage behind her and stood up. Coco stood up, wiping herself off.

Coco eyed Velvet a little curiously as Velvet now dawned a very odd face, one of uncertainty.

"Wait here." She whispered to Coco and gestured to her room and the surrounding area.

"VELVET." A husky male voice called out - Velvets father.

She quickly made her way downstairs, Coco kept hidden but was close enough to hear what was going on.

"Why isn't the damn house clean?" He barked out.

"I told you I'd be busy today, you knew this…" She meekly said.

He huffed and shook his head.

"I have a friend over." She commented now looking away.

"What? With a mess like this in our house?" He seemed to sneer.

"I'll clean it up. Promise. She's staying here too. She'll be in my room and we won't make a peep. I promise."

He huffed once more, it was louder and little more intimidating.

"After she's gone you, your mother and I are going to discuss this." He commented and walked away, going about his business.

Velvet ran back upstairs and looked at Coco, who she knew had heard everything. Velvet had an odd look about her.

"Everything okay?" Coco whispered to her, now approaching her.

Velvet nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Good. Everything great." She softly smiled, but in reality there was so much more. "Just a regular family with it's difficulties. My parents aren't that bad." She told Coco, though it didn't look like Coco believed much of what she had to say but then again, Velvet had even lied to herself with these words.

"You know, if you ever need a place to stay. You can live with me in Vale." Coco offered. Momentarily, Velvets heart fluttered. The thought of getting out of Patch, away from her parents, with her rabbit and her...best friend? Girl friend? Velvet wasn't even sure what they were, either way, Velvet knew she just wanted to be with her - safe and sound.

"I - I couldn't. I'd be a burden."

Coco approach her grabbing her and tugging her back to Velvets room, making her sit on the bed.

"You're not a burden, Velvet."

"I'm not good with anything. I'm useless around here. My parents don't even like me." Velvet looked down at her feet. It was true. Ever since they moved into the new apartment it was like she had lost all sense urgency.

"Are you kidding me? Have you seen your photography? Not to mention animals seem to love you. You have plenty of options with those two great skills. Not to mention you're a great girl…" Coco now nonchalantly shrugged as she complimented the girl.

"I…" Velvet blushed. "Thank you." She nodded and now looked up at Coco.

The two eyed each other momentarily - there was a certain sort of tension. It was like they were naturally being pulled towards each other. They began to lean in, both meeting halfway - both then paused when they were just inches apart. Almost as if Coco was going to be the one to allow it to happen, Velvet finally closed the space between their mouths and for a short moment they were on cloud 9. The shared kiss was short and sweet, nothing too intense but certainly held a softness and sweetness towards it. The two pulled back from the kiss, blushing and chuckling at the fact.

"I've been wanting to do that ever since I arrived." Coco admitted with a blush.

Velvet let out a small stutter of gibberish.

"But I wasn't sure if you'd still be interested in me."

"What? Why wouldn't I be, you're amazing!" Velvet now blurted out, still blushing.

Coco smirked and leaned back once more. "So, does this mean you'll be my girlfriend then?"

Velvet nodded vigorously. She had never dated anyone before, nonetheless a girl. She wasn't sure how her parents would deal with her dating one. Or anyone would deal with it for that matter. So, she made a mental note to keep it a secret to anyone and everyone that wasn't Coco or her guildmates.

The two quietly enjoyed the rest of the day.

The next day was rather exciting for Velvet and Coco. It was Velvet's birthday. Coco and Velvet went around town together. Velvet insisted on taking Coco to her favorite coffee shop, which Coco agreed to. Velvet was the birthday girl after all.

Though the traffic to get there was obnoxious as the two waited on the bus.

"Oh man, have you heard the news? Some weird monster attack in Mistral today." Some man in the seat behind him began to talk too loudly to the man sitting next to him. "Glowing body parts, crazy stuff! Some say it's some sort of government conspiracy! If they glow shoot, 'em hahah!"

Velvet and Coco eyed each other and shook her head. They listened to the two men talk about this weird event as they sat there quietly.

Finally the two had made it to the coffee shop and enjoyed a fine evening together. The two had also managed to walk around the outlet malls, shopping, and when they were sure they were alone they shared several kisses and giggles together.

Finally the day had come to end and soon enough Coco had to return home the next day. It was dusk and the two rode the bus home once more.

Velvet had proceeded to rest her head on Coco on the ride back as they enjoyed the silence the two could sit together in.

But this silence was soon broken as Coco muttered. "No way…"

Velvet lifted her head and look at Coco curiously. "Huh?" Velvet commented.

"Your right ear is glowing." She whispered being carefully sure to not cause a commotion.

"W-what?" Velvet muttered back her eyes widened.

Coco removed her hat, and put it on Velvet.

"Keep your ears covered at all times. Don't cut your hair. Whatever this means it's not good. Also, act natural." She whispered back. Coco had become professional all of the sudden. Had it not had been for Coco, she would've begun to freak out, but with her around she felt calm and easy. Velvet leaned back in the bus seat and remained calm.

The two cautiously looked around and made their way back to Velvets home, quickly entering it and locking the door behind them. The two quietly made their way upstairs, now entering Velvets room and locking that door as well. Velvet removed the hat and uncovered her ear.

"What's it look like?" Velvet ask slightly concerned, touching her ear now. It felt warm, but it didn't feel any different.

"Just...glowy." Coco commented.

"You think I'm one of those things those guys was talking about?"

"I don't know, but just be careful if you ever go outside. I don't want you getting...shot." Coco mumbled. "I leave tomorrow, but...here." She handed Velvet a rather large sum of cash.

"W-what? What is this for?"

"If you need to buy a ticket to get out of here. My house is always open, as is my school. You know my address, so don't hesitate."

"I won't." Velvet smiled and nodded, the two exchanged a small kiss and a hug.

The next day Velvet and gone with Coco to the airport, it was a sad thing to watch her go. She would be far, but still accessible through their games and so much more. Technology was a wonderful thing.

**Two days later / The encounter**

"Velvet! Velvet! Git down here!" Her father called down to her as she played Grimmcraft.

"I'll be right back, Coco." she said into her headset. "Love you too." She chuckled, their relationship had only gone on for a few days but she was totally in love with Coco.

She left the computer unlocked, and left the voice chat with Coco open as she ran downstairs.

"Yes?" She answered her dad as sweetly as possible.

"Why are we out of eggs? I thought I told you to go shopping!" He barked out.

"You told mom to go shopping. Not me." She muttered.

"Don't you sass me! Now go do something useful with your life and go buy some eggs!" Velvet nodded.

"I'll go right away." She sighed. Arguing with her father wasn't something pleasant to be done. She knew better than to do so and if she did - consequences would be...harsh.

She grabbed the money her father handed her and stuffed it in her pocket. She walked to the bus stop and pulled out her phone and begun to text Coco.

V: "Had to go to the store. Do the raid without me. :("

C: "Laaame. When will you be back?"

V: "Soon hopefully. Just getting eggs and coming back. E Z P Z."

C: "Maybe you'll level up when you turn in the quest!"

V: "Haha. Maybe. I'll talk to you in a bit. 3"

C: "3"

The bus had made its timely appearance as it now had pulled up. The wind had slightly picked up as it pulled up and rustled her hair. She quickly pulled it down over her ears and looked around making sure nobody knew.

She stepped on the bus and sat in one of the seats up front.

Unbeknownst to her she was now the target of two boys on the bus who had noticed her.

Velvet got off the bus and walked to the store which was nearby to the bus stop, the two men following behind, which she still hadn't noticed.

They had waited outside the store as Velvet exited the small grocers with just a bag of eggs. Once more she waited for the next bus to make an appearance. Once more the men followed her.

As the bus made its stop several blocks away from her house she got off and proceeded to make the final stretch home.

It was only then she had a chill run down her back. It was only then she had decided to look back a little too late.

The two guys grinned as they looked at her and she looked at them. She began to walk a little faster. As did the two guys behind her. She began to go into a light jog, as did the two guys. Then, a sprint, to which she decidedly dropped the bag of eggs as she feared more for her life than the eggs. She ran, but was quickly caught by the two thugs. _Someone help...please. I...I'm just a teenager! Leave me alone!_

"W-what do you want?" She cried out. She looked around trying to find anyone that might help her. But there was no one.

"We saw you freak!" The two now began to drag her to the alley for their own nefarious reasons.

"What are you talking about?!" She cried out once more as she was taken and basically carried off by the two of them towards the darkness of the alleyways.

"You're one of those monsters! You're a freak!" They tossed her to the ground and had begun to kick her and spit on her.

"N-no! I'm not! Please leave me be!" She began to back up on the ground. _I don't wanna die here. Everything has been going so well and now this? Please please...I don't.._

"Hey!" An unfamiliar voice called, but it had drawn the attention of her two attackers. She was now in tears and panicked. "What do you think you're doing?" The girl asked. She was huge to Velvet standards. Bigger than Coco, bigger than the thugs. Another girl stood behind her. She could've sworn that she had seen the smaller girl around school once or twice, but wasn't completely familiar with her.

The smaller girl had said something, but Velvet only made out a few of the words; she was like a cornered animal. The leader of the group turned to spit on Velvet once more, which caused her to back up once more and shake wildly.

"We're teaching this freak a lesson!" One of the boys had said.

_Lesson? You're beating me up! I've done nothing to you. Please, just leave me alone…_

"Freak? What are you talking about?" The girl with the golden locks replied, sounding genuinely confused.

The other boy walked up to Velvet and grabbed her hair, treating her like a wild animal. She pushed him away, but she knew the damage had already been done. They would've seen her ear and now it would be a mob beating up on her.

One of the boys had made a claim that it was the right thing to do.

The girl with the golden locks appeared unconvinced by these claims as she responded in a manner that had even shocked Velvet.

"That doesn't give you the right to torture her." The girl replied, clearly making a fist.

The three of them had made begun to rile one another up and with that a fight ensued.

_It's two versus one, there would be no way she'll…_

Velvet watched as the girl had flipped one of the boys.

"W-why are you helping me?" Velvet's voice was desperate. Who was this girl? How did she even know they were there? Why didn't she even freak out like the rest of them? "Didn't you hear them? I'm a freak! I'm a monster!" The taller girl approached her which had caused Velvet to inch away even more.

All she wanted was to be with Coco.

"You don't deserve to be beaten up for who you are." The girl sounded sincere in her words which had calmed Velvet down, but at the same time she slightly reminded Velvet of Coco. "Look, I don't care what you are. You deserve to live, just like everyone else."

"H-how did you even find me?" Velvet now asked one of the questions she had formulated in her mind.

"I…honestly, I don't know. I kinda just…felt you crying out for help. I just kept running until that feeling got stronger. Then, I found you." The girl seemed confused herself, though her words to Velvet seemed true. "What's your name?" The girl asked now outreaching her hand to help Velvet up.

"Velvet." She had finally responded now grabbing the girl's hand. "Thank you." The feeling of the girl's hand was awfully calming. She almost felt motherly to the girl. Like she could embrace the girl and feel safe, not in a romantic way, but in a pure platonic sort of love. Velvet shook the feeling away.

The kind stranger now asked her if she had a place to stay.

Velvet immediately thought of Coco. She nodded and responded - "I have a gir - a friend. Who goes to school in Vale."

The golden hair girl showed genuine concern for Velvets safety. Asking her if she would be safe with her. Of course she would! But, of course the girl didn't know that which was something she shouldn't have known.

The yellow haired and the smaller black haired girl followed Velvet back to her house making small talk. The girl suggested that she leave as soon as possible. It was awhile until they reached her house.

To which Velvet finally mentioned - "I never got your name."

"Yang. Yang Xiao Long." Yang had replied and had begun to introduce her sidekick who introduced herself as Ruby Rose. Velvet had heard the name before. She was in one or two classes with her, but never really had spoken to her.

She thanked them for everything and walked into her house.

Out of pure luck her father had passed out on the couch and her mother was busy in the kitchen. She snuck her way upstairs and quickly got back on the computer.

"Coco?" She whispered into the mic.

"Velvet? Babe! Where have you been? I thought you went to the store? I also texted you like..a bunch." Coco replied.

"That's...not important. What's important is that I'm coming to live with you. I'm going to pack my bags and leave this place. I can't stay here."

"What happened?" Coco now sounded concerned.

"I got found out. A girl by the name of Yang Xiao Long saved my ass." She replied.

"Yang? Isn't she like a popular MMA fighter down there?"

"Don't know, but I need to leave...now. I'm going to pack and catch a bus to the airport. I will let you know how I'm doing."

"Don't forget to bring Leeroy."

"I won't."

"Hey, Velvet?"

"Yeah, Coco?"

"I love you, be safe okay? I'll be waiting for you."

"I love you too, and once I'm with you - I won't have to worry about being safe anymore."


	8. Community

**Yang & Weiss / Vale **

 

The warm morning sun hit the side of Yang’s face. Her eyes fluttered open as she felt as if she had awoken from a long slumber. Yang’s side felt heavy, but in reality it was her whole body that felt heavy. She was sore, but felt a little better than when she had earlier as she was still beaten and bruised. She might have been a monster, but she still felt pain and received injuries just as everyone else had. She turned her head to look out the window of the moving vehicle. They passed tree after tree, it was endless at least there were no prying eyes, no massive cities, or loud noises that could indicate awaiting trouble.

 

Yang noted it was dawn, with the fresh sun peeking from the trees. Just how long had they been on the road? Where exactly were they going? Yang turned her head and looked down at her hand, her left hand was still intertwined with the girl who had taken the seat next to her - Weiss Schnee. Yang thought this to be a curious case, but she couldn’t help but admire the girl in all her sleepy beauty. Weiss’s head had been rested against Yang the whole time, which Yang was oddly comfortable with. An oddity that Yang had come to realize with Weiss being so close is that the original odour that Weiss had produced was now, simply, gone. Either that or she had become very used to it. That is to say, Weiss smelled sweet regardless of her state.

 

“Good morning, Ms. Xiao Long!” The man in the driver seat had whispered in a peppy voice, this had quickly pulled Yang from her deep thoughts. Yang paused, now trying to recall his name. Weiss had mentioned it before. Pots? Puts? Port!

 

Yang smiled at him. “Morning, Mr. Port?” She turned it into a question, seeing as she was still unsure of his name. Just who was this guy exactly? Weiss seemed to trust him. Though all the questions Yang might’ve had the night before were now rushing to her mind as she was a lot more coherent. Right now, those were questions for later. 

 

The man nodded. “I am indeed Mr. Port.” Well, at least Yang had gotten that right. “Delightful, isn’t she? You partners surely are something to admire.” He whispered as he tried to not awaken Weiss.

 

“Partners? W-what are you..?” Yang responded a little curiously. Great, another question she needed answered. “W-what do you…” Yang had grown quiet now as her words were thrown off by Weiss’s movements next to her.

 

Weiss had now seemed to awaken, slowly but surely. Weiss’s head lightly rubbed on Yang’s shoulder before she opened her eyes and yawned. She lifted her head away from Yang, and looked around. Yang’s arm now felt a little empty - she missed Weiss’s touch on her shoulder. At least Weiss hadn’t let go of Yang’s hand for now. Though, it seemed to be an aspect both of them had missed. It had felt so natural that they continued to hold hands without even noticing.

 

Weiss looked towards Port, who nodded and gave a brief ‘Good morning’ to Weiss. Weiss then turned to look at Yang - now taking the view of her all in. Her long yellow mane, was surprisingly perfect. Her face could’ve seen better days, it was bruised, scratched and if Weiss were to get a bit closer she could have sworn that Yang’s right eye was black and swollen. Yang had turned her head to look back at Weiss - shooting her a friendly grin. Yep, black eye. Black eye or not, to Weiss she had an odd allure about her. Weiss still didn’t fully understand her attraction to her.

 

“Good Morning, princess.” Yang grinned a very toothy grin. She sounded oddly chipper for being black and blue.

 

“Hey! I’m not a princess.” Weiss retorted with a pout. This was their first exchange without combat, without the need for urgency, for once they were able to get to know each other.

 

“I dunno Weiss, your hand holding deems otherwise.” Yang grinned widely now making a comment at the fact they were still holding hands.

 

Weiss’s face reddened and removed her hand from Yangs. “I was doing that for you, you dolt! Besides you didn’t let go either and how does that even make me a princess?!” She commented back now glaring at Yang.

 

“I was kidding. Y’know, princess just seems likes a good nickname for you.” She winked.

 

This? This was Weiss’s ‘mate’? Their first calm exchange was a little more irritating than she had imagined. Yang had an overly confident aura about her now that she seemed well. She also seemed overly playful when she wasn’t being hunted down like an animal. She was almost as bad as Jaune. She just hoped she wasn’t as dumb - though, by their previous encounters she surely didn’t seem like it.

 

“Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Yang had pulled Weiss out of her glare and deep thoughts as Yang had grabbed Weiss’s hand. There was a sudden softness in her tone. Something that had Weiss’s heart in a confused state. “I’ll stick to calling you Weiss then, okay?” Yang gave her another playful grin. Yang once more intertwined her fingers with Weiss and she seemed to immediately calm down. Okay, so Yang wasn’t all that bad.

 

Yang began to look around as they seemed to have turn down a road. “Soooo, just where exactly are we going?” She asked now turning her head to Port.

 

“Mountain Glenn.”

 

“Mountain Glenn?” The girls seemed to be in sync as they questioned this name in unison.

 

“I thought that was to the south _ east _ of our original location.” Weiss stated. “Plus, isn’t that place in ruins now?”

 

“I thought that Mountain Glenn was a myth!” Yang shrugged out. Weiss turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

 

“What are they teaching you in school?” Weiss asked in disbelief.

 

“Not much.” Yang chuckled - clearly indicating that school was not much of a priority for her. Weiss merely rolled her eyes.

 

“Ahh, to the public it is a mere myth.” Port interjected. “To the well-educated and in-the-know it is in fact a real location and yes Weiss, it is in fact in ruins, but that’s what makes it so valuable to you all.” Weiss bit her lip and turned to Yang at the revelation. It was something she should’ve known. That what she learns isn’t the same as what everyone else might learn. “Also Ms. Schnee, I took some back roads. Double the trip time, but safer from prying eyes.” He interjected once more before Weiss began to speak again.

 

“Sorry.” She muttered to her. Yang raised an eyebrow and smiled at her.

 

“Nothing to be sorry about. We just come from different worlds is all.” Yang didn’t seem to mind it as she had just shrugged the comment off. In fact, she was ready for whatever wild ride that Weiss and Port would bring her. If there was one thing she kept in the back of her mind it was Ruby. Ruby had been the only good thing in Yang’s world. Now, she wasn’t entirely sure if she’d be able to go back to that. Meanwhile, Weiss  _ had _ the privilege to return to a normal life. So why didn’t she? To Yang, this was another big question. 

 

“Does...does anyone have a phone I can borrow?” Yang now asked out of the blue, well more like in thought of she just  _ had _ to contact Ruby.

 

“Ahh, Ms. Xiao Long I suggest that you wait until we are in a safe location for calls. We make your safety our priority. Ms. Belladonna will make sure you get that call, but in the meantime you must wait.” Port responded in a kindly manner.

 

A slight hint of sadness ran through Yang's face. “I understand.” She replied, following through with a sigh. 

 

Meanwhile Weiss patted down her pockets. She had her phone with her, but at this point it would most likely be dead and of no use. Hopefully she would be able to freely use it. She kept this quiet. She looked to Yang now, who seemed down not only by her tone of voice but by her aura that she gave off. She squeezed her hand to grab her attention, to which Yang responded to by eying her and raising an eyebrow.

 

“What’s wrong?” She now asked Yang. Normally it would be none of her business, but the two had already been through so much together that it felt like the right thing to do. 

 

Yang sighed and took the bait, she had no reason not to talk to Weiss. She was the only option, asides from Mr. Port who seemed to be content with driving for long amounts of hours. 

 

“It’s my sister.” Yang finally said. “I’m worried about her...being worried about me. Seems a little ironic.” She chuckled to herself and shook her head. 

 

“You have a sister?” Weiss now asked. Of course she’d be unaware about Yang. She hardly knew the girl, yet she had to, no she wanted to get to know her better. This was her mission, wasn’t it? Befriend and research these ‘monsters’ who seemed to her, the more and more she got to know Yang, like regular people. Which is what they were originally. If anything, this didn’t seem any different from making a friend, but Weiss knew Yang was a little more than a friend to her. More like a crush. 

 

“Yeah, she’s 15. Her name is Ruby Rose.” she paused, “We don’t have the same mother in case you’re wondering.” She added a small grin, attempting to show that not  _ everything _ in the world was as bad as it seemed. “She’s short, like you!” She started to joke once more, as her mood completely seemed to turn around into a playful one.

 

“She’s safe though, right?” Weiss ignored the silly comment with an eyeroll and a small glare, but the comment itself was actually a little funny, but she wasn’t going to let Yang get a chuckle out of her - not yet at least.

 

Yang nodded. “Yeah, I guess I can’t complain too much. I just don’t want her to lose sleep over me.”

 

“I understand. You’ll be able to talk to her in no time!” Weiss managed a small, yet polite smile towards her.

 

“What about you Weiss-y? Got any siblings?” Yang now asked.

 

Weiss momentarily paused, a wave of sadness rushing over her face. “I...I..” she thought about her, Winter. Her older sister. She was intelligent, independent, and someone that Weiss had considered her biggest role model. Winter had been someone that was always trying to do good. She was always asking the right questions; even she, had sometimes went against her father's orders. But it wasn’t like this anymore, Weiss...was alone and Winter? Winter was dead, of course. It was a strange incident, one that had drove her mad. There were things that just didn’t make sense, and her father, the one who should’ve cared as much as she did, did not seem to show much emotion. Maybe it was his way of dealing with it. Other than that, Weiss hadn’t talked about Winter to much of anyone. In fact, she had outright refused at times. 

 

She hardly spoke of her to Pyrrha and to Jaune who hadn’t really gotten to know Winter. But all she cared is that they were there for her. That’s all that mattered. 

 

Weiss finally regained herself as she had an unusually long pause due to her train of thought regarding Winter. “I did.” She still sounded a little empty as she spoke.

 

Yang scrunched her face up. She instantly knew it was a sore subject. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” 

 

“How were you supposed to know?” Weiss brushed off. 

 

Yang shrugged, “Good point.” She muttered. Yang now returned the squeeze to Weiss’s hand, a feeling of warmth and comfort could be had between the two. The two had noted that together, they were a strange pair. Like hot and cold. Weiss was cautious, planning, and meticulous. Yang was carefree, open, and if anything hot-headed. 

 

“Ahh, it appears we are nearing our destination!” Port now exclaimed loudly and excitedly.

 

Weiss and Yang looked around a little confused, there was a continuity of trees. Nothing more around them.

 

“Are you sure?” Yang asked. 

 

“There’s nothing here.” Weiss now added.

 

“Oh, but there is. Watch.” Port now turned towards the trees. Weiss let out a small yelp, and Yang covered Weiss with her beaten and bruised body, but nothing happend. They didn’t crash. They were now going down a beaten road that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

 

“Oh girls, you are all right!” Port chuckled. The two girls recovered from their recoil, and gave each other an embarrassed look as they broke apart from each other.

 

“S-sorry.” They said to each other in unison.

 

They now approach a beaten down city, it was, abandoned. They had finally made it to the infamous Mountain Glenn.

 

“How the hell did you manage to hide an entire city?” Yang said in awe as they now passed torn down buildings.

 

“I know you have so many questions Ms. Xiao Long, as I know you do too Ms. Schnee but in soon time you will learn everything! My job was to merely transport you to safety.” Port said as he parked next to an abandoned building.

 

The two exited the truck, looking rather bewildered. To Weiss, history has it that the city was meant to be an expansion, but it ultimately failed as the area was completely unstable in a variety of ways. The place itself, could be considered cursed. Earthquakes, Power Grid failures, an enormous amounts of explosions out of nowhere. So people had abandoned the town for their own safety. To Yang, she had known it as a myth and had only heard that strange ‘Government experiments’ were held there. Yang found it hard to believe, then again, in this day and age it was hard to believe anything.

 

“This way girls!” Port called to them entering the building they parked near. Port seemed to climb under a piece of debris that was partially blocking the entry way. The two girls shrugged and nodded. Weiss took the lead as Yang was still a little beaten and sore, not to forget to mention the two had been starving the whole time.

 

Weiss ducked underneath the debris from the doorway, Yang looked around behind them being doubly careful that they had not been followed. The two now were inside of the building, part of the upstairs was missing and everything around them was dark and very enclosed. A small light could now be seen. A flashlight.

 

“We’re almost there.” Port said. He walked towards the corner of the abandoned building and removed a piece of tarp from the floor a rather large trap door was underneath it. Port entered a code and the door opened. 

 

The girls followed the light, to where Port was. Both were fairly intrigued by the complexity of the place so far. Port now disappeared into the trap door, where it led downstairs. Weiss continued to lead the way, but was slow enough so that Yang could keep up as she seemed to be dragging behind a little more. She stopped at the base of the trap door, where the stairs were.

 

“You don’t have to wait for me, y’know.” Yang said as she had approached Weiss.

 

“Don’t be a dolt, someone has to protect you while you’re this weak.” Weiss added in a very snide, but playful like tone. Yang simply chuckled and shook her head, it seemed like the princess - errr - Weiss knew how to loosen up.

 

Yang now took the lead and stepped in front. The two had gone down a floor, before they heard a thud. The trapdoor behind them had closed which was soon followed by a whooshing sound.

 

“Did the trap door just cover itself?” Weiss asked from behind.

 

“Beats me. This place is kinda creepy.” Yang now added as they had begun to go down another flight of stairs. It was dark and the only thing leading the way was Ports flashlight who was quite a ways away ahead.

 

As they made it to what seemed to be a ground level, Port now stood still waiting for them with a wall behind him.

 

“Uh, hey - you know there is a dead end behind you, right?” Yang commented as she and Weiss approached Port.

 

“Ohoho, not quite.” He banged on the wall behind twice and it had opened revealing a very old fashioned elevator. It didn’t look safe. Port motioned for them to get in. The two looked a little reluctant, but Yang, trying to be brave, took the first step in who was soon followed by Weiss.

 

“Aren’t you getting in?” Weiss asked Port.

 

“Oh no, I have other matters to attend to.” He smiled at the girls and banged on the wall besides the elevator. The door shut immediately.

 

“H-hey!” Yang called out. Now banging on the closed doors. Though, her own banging seemed to have no effect on the doors opening. The elevator now shook as it started up. Weiss and Yang reeled backwards, grabbing onto the railing as they looked around frantically.

 

“This would be a way to die, wouldn’t it?” Weiss tried to joke.

 

Yang gave her a deadpan look, if Weiss didn’t know any better it would seem as if Yang was about to faint. The elevator began going down at a moderate rate.

 

“Yang?” Weiss called out. Yang seemed to be glued to the railing. Weiss now approached Yang who seemed to be shaking and gripping onto the railing for dear life.

 

“I. Hate. Elevators. And. Closed. Spaces.” She muttered. Weiss couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. A big strong girl like this was afraid of these kind of things? Well, that’s one thing that makes her human. Her fears. Monsters have fears, like everyone else. She’s no different, is she?

 

“You're basically a cage fighter though!” Weiss added now trying to distract Yang in order to get the time to pass just a little faster.

 

“Yeah, but there’s a difference! I can see outside! The cage isn’t as tiny as this small ass space!” Yang rushed her words out, still keeping a strong grip on the railing. If she wasn’t careful, she could destroy the railing with her strength alone. “I swear if we don’t get out of here I just might…”

 

The elevator stopped moving, as it seemed to hit the ground floor. Weiss now turned to face the opening doors. The place, wherever they were, was bright compared to the dimly lit elevator they had rode down on. Yang stumbled out of the elevator and collapsed on the floor breathing a little too dramatically. She certainly was lively, regardless of the situation. Weiss followed out, a little more calmly.

 

Weiss had taken the time to look around. They were underground and the area was enormous. If she had to take a guess, the space offered just as much open spacing as the Schnee Company did. 

 

At this time she had failed to notice few approaching figures.

 

“Yang?” A voice called out, it was familiar to Yang but not to Weiss.

 

Yang from her dramatics on the ground, now looked up to see who was calling out to her. 

 

“Velvet!” She immediately stood up and ran to greet the girl, the two embraced in a friendly hug. Weiss eyed the two in the embrace, she sized up Velvet. She made a light ‘hmph’ sound as she unknowingly - to her - showed jealousy. Though, it seems she was not alone in this gesture as she now noted a taller girl standing behind the girl, Velvet, who was hugging Yang. The girl was almost as tall as Yang, but not quite as buff or menacing. If anything she looked vaguely familiar.  

 

“Weiss Schnee.” The girl who she had been staring at eyed her back in the same curious manner. It took a moment to click, but Weiss finally recognized the girl. It was Coco Adel. Coco, to Weiss, was the daughter of a rich and famous fashion designer. Her mother was one of the top designers, and even Weiss was impressed by the work of her mother even if Weiss didn’t care much about the latest top fashions. She still could appreciate the works.

 

“Coco Adel.” she now approached the girl and outreached her hand, the two exchanged a formal handshake and a friendly grin.

 

The two  _ couples _ now faced each other. 

 

“Oh, uh! Velvet, this is my  _ friend _ \- Weiss and Weiss, this is Velvet she was the first girl I saved!” She motioned towards the both of them as they introduced themselves to one another. Velvet and Coco eyed each other and smirked as if they just  _ knew _ something that the two girls didn’t. 

 

“Pleasure to meet you Weiss. I’d like to introduce Coco, my  _ girlfriend _ .” Velvet’s words slipped out of her mouth smoothly and with a rather wide smile, she seemed awfully proud of the word and the fact that she had a girlfriend.

 

“Oh, so you’re the friend she was talking about!” Yang grinned out. “It’s good to see you’re safe Velvet. I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon. Or, y’know...at all.” She shrugged with a cheesy grin on her face.

 

“I didn’t think we would run in again either, but Blake told us all about you. It kind of makes sense on how you found me.” Velvet admitted.

 

“It makes sense? It still doesn’t make sense to me. Yeah, I’m…a monster...” She momentarily paused the words tasted so unnatural now, but it was true. She had the ability to change into a rather large and grotesque creature that could destroy a city if she tried. “But, I didn’t think monsters had that sort of ability.”

 

“I guess that what makes you special.” Velvet added nonchalantly.

 

“Aren’t we all a little special here, Velvet?” She chuckled, “I don’t think I’m any different that anyone else in this room.” Yang brushed the strange compliment off.

 

“Soooo….” Weiss interjected. “This is sweet and all, but I kind of would like to know where we are.” Weiss sounded a little annoyed, mostly due to the fact that Velvet had complimented her. Weiss, didn’t understand the jealousy she was feeling. All she just knew is that this possessiveness only appeared with other - seemingly attractive - people around. She now drew her own attention away from the girls near hear and to the background. 

 

A little community could be seen, it seemed like a quaint little village in the back with a few people gathered around, enjoying themselves. Each seemed to have a makeshift house, there was more in the back, but Weiss couldn’t make out what was back there. It looked like a very advanced doorway.Weiss had now wondered, were they all monsters? Weiss now was brought back to attention as Velvet had moved her hair, revealing her glowing ear. So there were monsters in here, and from the looks of it, none of them were fearing for their lives. Was this the society that Blake had mentioned before? 

 

“Weiss, you’ve must have spoken to Blake before, correct?” Coco had said, now pulling her out of yet another daze.

 

Weiss nodded. “Yeah, I’m guessing this is the place or the...society she spoke about?” 

 

Coco now returned the nod. “Don’t worry, everything will become clear in a bit. For now, why don’t you come with us? I think Blake has already assigned housing for you two.” Coco now turned and motioned them to come along with her and Velvet. Velvet gave off a hearty grin and a bounce and turned with Coco, taking her hand in the meanwhile. 

 

Weiss and Yang looked at each other, each of them hoping to do the same. To hold one another's hand. They had done it before, but they weren’t girlfriends! Or lovers! And before it was only just to keep comfort with one another. Neither girl took the initiative to try and do so, yet their hands awkwardly brushed against each other as they walked behind Coco and Velvet. The two looked around, passing small groups of people. There couldn’t have been more than 30 people all together in the area. 

 

Coco and Velvet entered one of the buildings, in fact it looked like one of the nicest buildings - on the outside that is. It didn’t give off a huge ruinous look like some of the other buildings had. Weiss and Yang followed them inside.

 

It was a simple on the inside, but just as the outside, it was surprisingly nice on the inside. It resembled a small apartment on the inside. There was an average sized living room, a decently sized kitchen with all the necessities of a kitchen, and one bedroom with a nicely sized bathroom.

 

“Whoa, is this ours?” Yang looked around now going to the kitchen and opening up the refrigerator. It was stocked with food. Just what she needed, well, what she and Weiss needed. “Score!” Her mood sprung up. Weiss soon followed behind not asking question as she too, was starving. Yang handed Weiss some snacks and the two sat down at a small two-person table and stuffed themselves while Coco and Velvet spoke to them.

 

“Yep! You two are free to live here. It’s your own little home. Coco and I live down the road, if you need anything just holler. Blake is currently out right now, don’t exactly know where, but there is a good chance that she’ll stop by later.” Velvet exclaimed. 

 

“So, rest up you two.” Coco added. “There is clothing in the closet and drawers. They should all fit you. Courtesy of moi.” Coco smiled and curtsied. 

 

“How did you guys know we’d be here?” Weiss now slowed down on her eating, leaning back in her chair.

 

“It’s not our job to answer those questions.” Velvet put up a finger to her mouth and winked. “Now, Coco and I will get out of your hair. Like we said, we’ll be down the block if you need us.” Velvet now inched towards the door and waved. Coco followed in suit now leaving the door girls in an almost empty apartment.

 

“They don’t give us much to go on, do they?” Yang now patted her fully stomach and leaned back in her chair.

 

“No, they don’t. Why can’t anyone just answer a single question!” Weiss lightly banged her fist on the table and sighed.

 

“It’s not their job, apparently.” Yang now stood up and stretched herself out. She was still, partially naked, with Weiss’s jacket on. Weiss just rolled her eyes at the comment.

 

“Then whose job is it?” Weiss now asked, a little rhetorically.

 

Yang shrugged. “I’m gonna go hop in the shower and then get to bed, I’m beat. Literally.” She grinned and headed towards the room. Weiss still sat, brooding over her own question.

 

“Uhh, Yo...Weiss?” Yang called from inside the bedroom.

 

“Yeah?” She said back, now getting up and making her way towards the bedroom.

 

“Sooo, I guess I’m sleeping on the couch?” Yang scratched the nape of her neck as she gestured with her other hand towards the king-sized bed. 

 

“I..” she looked towards Yang. “I don’t mind if you take the bed. You probably need it more than I do.” 

 

Yang looked down at herself, she had cuts, bruises, and all sorts of injuries that she really didn’t feel, or more like she chose to ignore the pain. “I guess you’re right. Are you sure though? I can sleep just about anywhere.” Yang added just in case.

 

Weiss nodded. “Go shower, I still need to too.” 

 

Yang smirked and was in the process of saying something, but was cut-off by Weiss “Don’t say it.” She glared at her.

 

“Hey, you don’t even know what I was going to say!” Yang playfully quipped as she grabbed her towels and a fresh set of PJs. A tank top, and yellow pajama bottoms. Just her size!

 

Weiss glared at her once more, but in reality, she was in no way upset or turned off by what Yang might have actually offered. Though, she wasn’t 100% sure that Yang was thinking that...and the fact that Weiss WAS the one thinking about that.

 

Yang stuck her tongue out at Weiss when she passed her as she went towards the restroom. 

 

“Real mature!” Weiss waited until Yang left the room to let out a small chuckle.

 

“HEARD THAT.” Yang yelled from the restroom, as the sound of water running began.

 

“Do you have super hearing or something?!” She muttered. 

 

“Only for you, sweetheart.” Yang responded.

 

“Stop that!” Weiss now yelled to her, sounding a little annoyed. She huffed out and sat on the rather large bed. Yang had now stepped into the shower.

 

Weiss laid back on the bed and waited for Yang to get out of the shower, but she felt her eyes get heavy. She closed them and promised herself not to go to sleep yet, but it was of no use. She fell asleep almost instantly. The whole day and passed day itself was rather wild and while, it was the morning time she was still fatigued from the whole adventure. To sleep in a bed, was heaven sent for her now. It also didn’t help that she had felt safe for the first time in months. Yang, made her feel at an odd ease. 

 

About 15 minutes had passed and Yang had finally gotten out of the shower in her fresh new PJS, feeling good and relaxed. With her towel over her shoulder, she entered the bedroom once more.

 

“Hey Weiss your tu- Oh.” she now eyed the sleeping girl on the bed. “Heh. Cute.” she muttered, although Weiss wasn’t completely in bed she was more like at the edge of the bed. Yang hung up her towel and looked at Weiss, admiring her for the moment. Then she put one arm under her legs and the other on under her back and gently lifted her up, moving her to the pillows and under the covers, effectively tucking her in. She almost looked like a doll that Yang wanted to hold, but currently she knew better. She didn’t want to invade on Weiss’s space. Though, something in her gut told her it’d be more than okay if she joined Weiss in bed - but for now Yang kept a reasonable distance. “Sweet dreams, Weiss-y.” She smiled to herself and almost out of instinct she kissed Weiss on the forehead. She pulled herself back and blushed, hoping that Weiss wouldn’t wake up. It felt like she had been doing that gesture for centuries, it just felt so natural. 

 

Yang exited the room and placed herself on the couch, it wasn’t too bad, except for the fact that Yang was a little bit bigger than the couch in almost everyway. Within almost an instant Yang fell asleep.

 

Several hours had passed and Weiss was strangely awoken by a thud. “Oh, crap...I fell asleep...in her bed.” She wiped her eyes, and lightly touched her forehead. It felt warm, a good kind of warm. She smiled to herself as she got up and left the room.

 

Only to find an asleep Yang half-on the couch and half-off of it. Her body was sprawled wildly across it. Weiss snorted as she laughed. She poked at Yang now helping her up off the ground and tried to return her to the room. Yang in a half-conscious state followed Weiss to the bedroom. It was now Weiss’s turn to tuck in the tired lumbering Yang. 

 

She had done the same, but, was unable to leave as the half-conscious Yang grabbed hold of her. It wasn’t a tight hold, Weiss could’ve easily slipped out of it, but decided against it. “Don’t go…” Yang mumbled. “I need you…” 

 

Weiss furiously blushed at these words. “Are you awake?” She now questioned Yang. The answer, clearly was no. “I guess it’ll be alright...I’ll just shower in the morning then..” She muttered. Her heart raced as she carefully maneuvered herself over Yang and to the other side of her as Yang still had a light grip on her. Weiss laid down next to her as Yang now turned to face Weiss, while Yang was clearly asleep at this point of view. 

 

“How am I supposed to sleep when I’m sleeping next to you…?” She muttered as she closed her eyes, her heart raced. Being this close and intimate was new with Weiss. Something that excited her in a new way. Although, they weren’t at all being intimate, just merely sharing the same bed. Weiss couldn’t help, but be excited at this new feeling. But in the end, the comfort of Yang being near her and the exhaustion of the past few days had still made an appearance.

 

With that, Weiss had peacefully drifted off into a comforting sleep with Yang.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Roman this chapter. Apologies. :P Hope y'all enjoyyyy~


	9. Class is in Session

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly fluff this chapter. Kinda? Sorta? Maybe?

**Roman / ??? /**

 

“Sir, it appears we’ve lost communication for several hours now.” A soldier reported with a certain tone of fear and timidness in his voice. “I fear we do not know where they are.”

 

“Oh, is that so?” Roman replied, his tone of voice was hard to make out. “Do we know where they were last headed?” He now swiveled his chair around as he sat in an office. Though, whether they had actually belonged in that place was questionable.

 

“Uh, y-yes sir, their last seen coordinates are recorded. Do we want to send out a team?” The soldier did his best to remain strong as he spoke to Roman. As Roman held a certain intimidation to him. He may have been an elite guard, but that meant power and to everyone else it was a position to be feared.

 

He smirked and shook his head. “No, there is no need. We will let the dominos fall by themselves.” He pulled out a lighter and a cigar and lit it up. “Now leave me. I have some important matter to attend to.” He kicked his feet up on the desk he was sitting at as he begun to smoke indoors. 

 

The soldier exited while another person entered.

 

“Ahem! What do you think you’re doing?” The person’s rough voice made Roman smirk. “I thought you’d be out of here by now...are you..Are you smoking?!” The person roared. “Take that outside!”

 

“Temper, temper. I’ll be out of your hair soon. You should be glad we’ve done everything right so far. Maybe a minor setback or two, but we’ve got everything under control.”

 

“Hmph. I hope you know what you’re doing.” He sneered.

 

“Of course I do. They are right where they’re supposed to be.”  Roman smirked and chuckled to himself, blowing out smoke and walking passed the person.

 

**Yang & Weiss / Vale**

 

The two girls had seemed to have passed out for the rest of the day. A fight, an escape, a long car ride, and finally a new home - the girls seemed to have been worn out by all this. A good 12 hours of sleep, one might have thought they were dead, but no, just two teenagers in need of a good sleep. Although, the time of day was possibly now 1 to 2 a.m in the morning. Seeing as the two girls had arrived a bit after dawn. To which the drive had taken a bit longer than expected to arrive there so they arrived around 9 to 10 am. Then had finally fallen asleep in the same bed around 1'o clock.

 

Weiss was the first one to awaken, it was around 1 AM. A little too early to be awake. Though she had a problem, she couldn’t move. She felt an intense warmth encumber her body. She felt slight movements on her stomach and on her side. A calm and content breath could be heard behind her. The movement from behind became a bit more snug on her as the body behind her moved. Was Yang cuddling up to her? That was definitely out of the question, because she certainly was. Should she move? 

 

The majority of her body and mind wanted to cuddle back up to her, but Weiss internally protested. She hardly knew the girl, but either way. She felt extremely safe, and comforted, and all the likes. Her body was aching for her to stay. “No. No..” she muttered to herself as quietly as she could. She was fighting a losing battle, with herself. Though it didn’t help that Yang was like a puzzle piece on her side. They just fit so perfectly and Weiss knew it.

 

Weiss momentarily gave in. As she seemed to snuggle back into Yang who just tightened her grip around Weiss’s small frame. She scrunched her face as she laid there, wide awake. She wanted to deny all of this. Even though she did have a crush on Yang, she was afraid. Afraid of the intimacy, afraid of what it meant if she had decided to actual  _ commit _ to being with Yang. But wasn’t she already committed? Weiss huffed to herself in frustration.

 

She took another deep breath and lightly pried the taller girl’s hands away from her body. She then scooted herself away from the sleeping body. Already she had missed the sensation of closeness, with her own personal heater. Weiss sat up and looked back at Yang. The odd lighting of the hidden cave shone on Yang’s face. Though not as romantic as a real moonlight moment. Weiss could appreciate her  _ friends _ beauty as she slept.

 

With what little light she was offered, Weiss shuffled towards the closet. She could make out the necessities of what she needed to get dressed inside of the closet. She was fairly surprised at the amounts of clothes that Coco had managed to give the girls. Weiss wondered if all of the residents were given this much. Then again most of these clothing seemed like they could be obtained at a goodwill store. Not that Weiss minded that of course seeing as this was a odd situation for everyone.

 

With the clothes in hand she made her way to the restroom, surprisingly not bumping into anything. Closing the door and locking it behind her while turning the lights on she felt a small sense of satisfaction. Never in her life had she been so far away from it all, her father, the mansion, her friends. This was all so new and strangely exciting, but this was not to say that she didn’t miss her friends. Part of her wanted to share this moment with her two best friends from back home. But she knew that they were safe and sound, and really, that’s all she cared for - that everyone she loved was safe. Including...including Yang (though of course, Weiss wasn’t one to say that she was  _ in love  _ with Yang because she says so!). 

 

Weiss hopped into the shower and washed herself off. She hadn’t realized that she too, was a little sore. So much activity for one day. Not that Weiss didn’t work out or do any sort of sport, but this was such a different a experience for her that her body just didn’t know how to react to it. As she showered she felt a warm feeling in her chest. Surely, she thought, her body was just fatigued. 

 

The steam filled the bathroom as she stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her. She let the steam settle, and looked through the cabinets to find a fresh hairbrush. Although from the looks of it, it seemed like it wasn’t as fresh as she thought as yellow hairs seemed to be entangled within the brush. She merely rolled her eyes and removed the hairs, throwing them away in a trashcan that was in the restroom. As her eyes met the mirror now she widened her eyes in horror.

 

Was she...there is no way she could be...glowing? Her chest was glowing? She wasn’t a monster. She knew she wasn’t. She let out a small shriek. Within an eyeblink the door was broken open and a very concerned, yet tired looking Yang burst through the door.

 

“Are you okay?!” Yang looked around for some sort of intruder. Yang’s eyes now rested on the almost nude Weiss, who’s towel was still wrapped around her.

 

“Y-you! You did this!” She pointed to her chest sounding a little flustered.

 

Yang looked away, she  _ did _ have some respect, y’know. “I didn’t do anything!” She retorted, “I came in to check on you, you did like yell after all!” 

 

Weiss closed in on Yang pulling her face down to her chest. 

 

“H-hey w-hat are you?! Whoooaa.” Yang now looked down at Weiss’s chest, or more like, where her heart was. It was glowing. Though, to Yang it didn’t look like the kind of glow that she wore. It was different. This was a marking, but not one that signified she was a monster. 

 

“See?! Now I’m one too!” Weiss sounded a little panicked.

 

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I don’t think you’re a monster, Weiss.” Yang talked almost as if she knew what she was talking about.

 

“Are you kidding me? How do you even know?” Weiss sounded a little doubtful.

 

“Call it a hunch.” Yang shrugged, eyeing Weiss a little more. Now taking in the full sight of an undressed Weiss. Her icy blue eyes glared back at the taller girl, her white and wet flowing hair rested over her shoulder. The sound of an impatient foot tap could be heard on the tiled floor. As Yang brought her eyes back up to Weiss. Who was sporting a scowl and a blush.

 

“Oookay. Are we d-done here then?” She stuttered as she spoke, clearly unsure of what to actually say. Part of her was still concerned with this new revelation that she glowed now like Yang, but Yang seemed fairly confident in her own words. Which gave Weiss small hope that this wasn’t actually what it looked like. Though, it looked like she was glowing.

 

“I’ll let you get dressed then.” She said yawning and looked back at the door - which she clearly had broke. They weren’t even in the house for 24 hours and already Yang was breaking things. “Uhh. Whoops. I’ll get that fixed.” She muttered as she walked out of the restroom and back towards their bedroom. 

 

Weiss got dressed and headed out of the restroom to find a content-looking Yang laying on the bed with her hands behind her head. Weiss raised an eyebrow at the girl.

 

“What are you so smug for?” Weiss now joined Yang, but chose to sit next to Yang, instead of lay down.

 

“It’s funny. I was in the same situation when that happened to me.” Yang admitted.

 

“Are you implying that I  _ am _ going to turn into a monster now?” Weiss eyed her with a rather concerning look on her face.

 

“No, no.” Yang now sat up next to Weiss, but held herself up as she slightly leaned back on her arms on the bed. “I still don’t think that. Back home, I basically grabbed my sister and almost forced her to look at me. At the time, I did think it was contagious...but somehow I just don’t think that’s it for right now.”

 

“For right now?” Weiss repeated.

 

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?” Yang chuckled.

 

“Yeah, you’re saying I’m going to turn into a monster!” Weiss pouted, though in truth it was a playful pout.

 

“No, I’m not!” Yang flicked Weiss’s nose, while Weiss scrunched up her face - fully accepting the hit.

 

“Hey!” She lightly punched the side of Yang’s arm, who was now sitting in a criss-cross position. Yang also had a huge grin on her face. Were they...were they getting along? Weiss and Yang both couldn’t tell if they were in the process of flirting with each other. “So...what do you think it is?” Weiss now finally asked.

 

“Well, when you were asleep in the car...Port mentioned partners, and I think...I think this might be a clue, or a sign, or something.” Yang scratched the nape of her neck. She knew she sounded a bit silly, but her _heart_ and gut was telling her that it might be true. Though, they wouldn’t be for certain.

“You mean like a mate?”

 

“Partner, mate, companion...yeah something like that. Wait,  _ mate? _ No, no..partners and companions is like buddies, pals, or y’know sidekicks!” Yang said in a blush, that word  _ ‘mate’ _ had made it seemed like they were meant for something more.

 

“I’m not a sidekick!” Weiss retorted “You do know that partners is basically synonymous with mate, right?” She raised an eyebrow at Yang.

 

Yang furrowed her brows “I knew that!” She waved off. She bit her lip as she momentarily sat in thought. A silence came between the two. It wasn’t by any means an awkward silence, just once that the two could think to themselves. To Yang, this was a new discovery. Yang’s whole life was spent as a single woman, who kicked ass and never cared for names. Now everything had changed. She could still kick ass, but there was only one name she cared for (asides from her sister, Ruby) and that was Weiss. It seemed that Yang had finally met her match. Because Yang, had slowly started to fall for the white-haired, icy blue eyed beauty. 

 

While Weiss, had a feeling that they just were meant to be. But she herself was someone who had always denied suitors. None of them just appealed to her, no attraction, no feelings, not until she met Yang. That isn't to say that neither Weiss, nor Yang had tried for a relationship in the past. It's just that neither of them had ever had the feeling of falling in love, if this was love that is. Because, every previous relationship the two girls might have engaged in was lacking. Almost as if they weren't with the right person. Is this what the feeling was in both of their hearts? Love?

 

The two now looked at each other as if both of them just knew what the other was thinking about. Yang broke the silence, “Uhh, I think I’m still a little tired.” She admitted, although it was a small lie, she wasn’t that tired anymore but part of her just didn’t know what to do. “I think I’ll hit the sack. Again.”

 

Weiss nodded and proceeded to get off the bed, she head back to the living room where she thought she belonged. Before she could even get through the door Yang called out to her,

 

“Hey, where ya’ going?”

 

“Back to bed?” Weiss answered.

 

“Weren’t you sleeping  _ here _ before?” Yang patted the pillow Weiss had been laying on.

 

“I..” Weiss began but was soon cut off by Yang.

 

“Y’know, it’s pretty strange how I ended up in the bed. I could’ve sworn I was on the couch.” Yang gave Weiss a cheeky grin.

 

“Okay, okay! I brought you in here.”

 

“And you stayed.” Yang’s grin grew wider, she behaved like a cocky teenager.

“Yeah, because you  _ asked  _ me to. You sounded so desperate almost.” Weiss stood their rather firmly and spoke in a serious tone. “You said you needed me, or something like that.”

 

The huge grin was wiped off Yang’s face in almost an instant and replaced with a lip bite. “S-sorry about that.” Yang remembered her own dream she had that night. It was about her mother. A mother she loved so dearly, but only to have her leave her for reasons unknown. In the midst of her dream a rather warm and friendly light encompassed her body. Yang vaguely remembers speaking to the light. She asked it to stay, and to not leave her like her mother once had. To Yang's surprise, the light had stayed and snuggled up to Yang. This had given her the feeling of safeness, and hope. It had just dawned on Yang, that the light in her dream was actually Weiss. That, and it wasn't just a dream but in fact had happened in real life. She had cuddled up to Weiss. She looked at Weiss and gave her an apologetic smile. “You can go.” Her tone slightly hinted at sadness.

 

“Are you sure?” Weiss now asked, still in her firm tone.

 

In all honesty, Yang did not want that and she knew she didn’t. Would she dare consciously ask 

Weiss if she would stay with her again?

 

“It doesn’t look like you are.” Weiss now walked back towards the bed where Yang sat.

 

“I…” Yang began, unsure of what to say. Normally she never had any trouble with decisions. She was a yes or no type of girl. It was not as if Weiss made her uneasy. It was more like, Yang had the constant want of being with Weiss and she didn’t know if that would be okay.

 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to ask.” She crawled into the empty space next to Yang.

 

Yang looked at her with a thankful smile. “Thanks.”

 

The two tucked themselves in, and laid face to face towards each other. It was still early morning, it couldn’t have been past 3 AM. Weiss and Yang gazed at each other underneath the faux-’moonlight’. 

 

“Goodnight Yang.” Weiss mumbled.

 

“Goodnight Prin-I mean, Weiss-y” Yang chuckled to herself only to then feel a slight flick on her nose.

 

“Ouch. Harsh.” Yang smirked to herself.

 

“Oh yeah? You want to see harsh?” Weiss flicked her nose again, then once more more before Yang grabbed her hand to stop her.

 

“You don’t want to make this monster angry.” She growled in a playful manner.

 

“You wanna bet?” Weiss growled back. She didn’t know what came over her, she had never been this playful with another person before. Normally she was someone who didn’t care to behave in such a childish manner. With Yang, this too felt so natural as if she wouldn’t be judged or hindered in any shape or form. 

 

Yang pulled Weiss to her, and met her halfway. The scent that Weiss had once sported before made an odd appearance as it entered Yang’s nostrils. Yang let out a sound that was a mixture between a snarl and purr, that to Yang, was completely unintentional. She found herself plunging into the nape of Weiss’s neck, inhaling the scent that was now taking over. She almost felt a little primal. She breathed heavily into her neck and if she was hearing things correctly she could hear the sound of Weiss’s heartbeat fasten.

 

“Y-yang, what are you?” Weiss sounded a little unsure, not exactly uncomfortable but it was enough to pull Yang away from her actions.

 

Yang blinked several times. “I’m s-sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” It was a good thing it was dark enough to hide the deep blushes each girl sported. 

 

Yang inched herself back, away from Weiss.

 

“Goodnight, for real this time.” Yang muttered and turned away from Weiss.

 

“Y-yeah. Goodnight.” Weiss too, turned her back towards Yang as the two now slept back to back with a good set of space between the two.

 

* * *

 

 

“Aww, I told you they look cute together.” An unknown feminine voice said.

 

“What makes you think I doubted you? I was the one who told you to make them meet each other.” Another unknown masculine voice said. “Sheesh. Can’t a guy get some credit around here?”

 

“You always take the credit. Can’t I get some too?” The girl replied.

 

“You know this wouldn’t have been possible without you.” The boy admitted.

 

“Thanks. Should we wake them up now?” 

“Yeah. We’ve got a lot to do today. It’s a shame, they look like they’re really enjoying one another.”

 

“RISE AND SHINE, KIDDOS.” The feminine voice now boomed as a couple of claps filled the room.

 

Weiss and Yang, who had somehow entangled themselves in one another as they slept were now rudely awakened. The two shrieked as the loud voice and claps reverberated throughout the room. Yang quickly pulled away from Weiss and got onto her feet, ready for a fight. Weiss nearly rolled off the bed from being pushed and frightened simultaneously. “Aghh!” Weiss groaned out. 

 

Yang stood firmly as her wild mane covered her face. Rendering her unable to see who the intruder was. 

 

“What’s going on!?” Weiss yelled out, now looking up. “Blake?!” She eyed the black haired girl. “How did you…? Scratch that, I’ll get that answer later or maybe not at all.” She then looked at the figure next to her. Well, monster. 

 

It was a rather shaggy blonde haired monster, with a body similar to that of a monkey’s. He had two tails, and four arms with only two legs. His hair, err, fur covered his face, but he seemed to be able to see perfectly fine. He sat there next to Blake, he was rather small for a monster, almost Blake sized if he stood up on his two feet.

 

“Who is…?” Weiss began to ask as Yang had finally removed the hair from her face.

 

“Oh, so  _ you’re _ Blake.” Yang finally greeted her. 

 

“Pleasure to meet you Yang. This is…” Blake began but was soon cut off by the monster.

 

“The names Sun!” The Monkey Monster greeted the two.

 

The two girls stood their, shocked. This was a monster that could talk in monster form, to humans. Yang’s mouth was slightly agape. Weiss blinked wildly and rubbed her eyes, making sure she was actually awake.

 

“Another question to be answered.” Weiss muttered to herself as she shook her head.

 

“Welcome, Yang Xiao Long, Mother of Guardians!” Sun now stood up and outstretched his four arms. He was a little taller than Blake so it seemed like.

 

“Great. Another nickname. Just what I need.” Yang waved off. “Wait, Mother of What? I’m not a..” the words now clicked to Yang, it’s just that she didn’t know what they meant. All she knew is that she was definitely not a mom! 

 

“You’re just going to confuse them more, Sun.” Blake eyed him, who was sporting a cheeky monkey grin.

 

“I’m sure you two have plenty of questions.” Sun looked at the both of them. 

 

The two girls now stood together, nodding and shrugging.

 

“Yeah, and not a damn person here wants to answer a single thing!” Yang complained. She tried asking Velvet, even Port, none of them would answer.

 

“Well, you’re in luck.” Blake smiled. “We’re here to answer your questions.” 

 

“Finally.” The two girls said in unison. Though, they were both rather curious on how Blake and Sun might be able to answer their questions. Just how long had they been in this business? They were professionals at this point, weren’t they? A roundup of 30 or so was rather impressive, and no one was killing anybody by the looks of it. It was just a safe haven.

 

“So abou-” Weiss began.

 

“Ahh, ahh. Not here.” Sun cut her off. “Come on, let’s go.” Sun beckoned.

 

“Where are we going?” Yang asked.

 

“Can we get dressed first?” Weiss added.

 

“You’ll see, and yes.” Blake answered for them. Well, for answering, it was a start. “We’ll wait outside then.” Blake pulled Sun alongside her. “No monkey business Sun.” she muttered as they left the house. 

 

The two girls looked at each other almost in a confusion.

 

“That isn’t a dream, right?” Yang asked.

 

“No...I don’t think so.” Weiss answered back now heading towards the closet, Yang followed behind. The two searched for clothing to wear.

 

“Hey, Weiss…”

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Weiss immediately answered.

 

“How did you…?”

 

“Call it a hunch.” Weiss smirked back at Yang. “No, really though. I wasn’t hurt and that’s all that matters.”

 

“Yeah, but...I felt a weird urge in me. Almost if I wanted to lose control and uhh...ravish you.” Yang admitted, now grabbing clothing and turning away from Weiss - she hid her blush. As did Weiss.

 

“R-ravish me?” Weiss repeated, what did that mean exactly?

 

The two faced away from each other as they changed clothing, a silence filled the air, but once again this was never an awkward silence between the two. As they had finished dressing the two faced each other.

 

“This is a stupid question, but do you…” Yang began to ask.

 

“Hey you two! Chop chop!” A voice, Sun’s voice could be heard. It was coming from outside.

 

Weiss motioned for them to exit, and so they did without Yang being able to finish her question. The two grabbed a piece of fruit as they exited the house, a light breakfast for now but not enough to fully satiate their soon to be hunger.

 

As the two stepped outside, they got a greeting bigger than they expected. The whole community must have been there. They were crowded around Sun and Blake, and now they silenced themselves to look at Yang and Weiss.

 

“Uhh, hi.” Yang quickly put and arm up and waved awkwardly. 

 

“Everyone! Listen up!” Sun began. “We have a new leader who will be working with me. Yang Xiao Long. The Mother of Guardians!”

 

“Leader?!” Yang and Weiss said in unison. 

 

“Okay, we have to stop doing that.” Yang muttered. 

 

“Yes, leader. You are one of the elite guardians. As am I. The Father of Tacticians.” 

 

“The what?” Yang replied once again.

 

“Great.” Weiss rolled her eyes and pretended to write on an invisible list. “Another question for question jar.”

 

“Training will begin for the Guardians in due time. As of now, I must get Yang and her  _ mate  _ up-to-date.” 

 

“I have a name, y’know.” Weiss scowled.

 

“Let us be off!” Sun finally ended and the small crowd let out a cheer. The crowd had parted for Blake, Sun, Weiss and Yang as they had begun to walk deeper into the cave.

 

Weiss and Yang reluctantly followed, not daring to ask another question.

 

The group had come about a minecart turned trolley. The four stepped on and waited. It had begun to move on it’s own, and soon they were rolling fairly quickly. Towards a wall. 

 

“Uhm...I don’t want to alarm anybody, but there is a huge wall in our path.” Yang gave a rather concerned look as Weiss now stuck herself to the side of Yang.

 

“Not a problem.” Sun responded. With a smirk, his whole demeanor changed. His hair began to move wildly, as it now revealed his glowing eye that was hidden underneath his shaggy hair. As they trolley had neared the wall, the surroundings now changed as they had entered a hidden room. Almost like an illusion.

 

The trolley slowed to a stop.

 

“Welcome to HQ!” Blake now stepped out of the trolley and into the headquarters.

 

It wasn’t a super impressive place. It was massive like the rest of the cave, but seemed a little more fortified and professional if anything at all. In the distance was a rather large room, with a different colored wall surrounding it, almost like a titanium sort of metal. 

 

“Come on, let’s go to the classroom.” Blake now motioned for them to follow.

 

The classroom was on the other side of the headquarters away from the ominous room.

 

The group now entered a classroom like setting. Weiss and Yang were surprised to see that it was occupied by Velvet and Coco who greeted them with some breakfast.

 

“Hey, you two.” Velvet grinned. “Ohh, it’s official now, huh?” Velvet said now staring at Weiss’s chest.

 

“W-what are you talking about?” Weiss covered herself up.

 

“Ahh…?” Yang was at a loss for the situation.

 

“Okay, okay! Settle down kids, class is in session.” Sun began, as he stood in the front of the room.

 

“Any questions?” Sun smirked.

  
  



	10. Class is in Session PT.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for late chapter! This one is a bit shorter too. Next weeks chapter might be late due to some school related events!

**Weiss & Yang / Vale**

 

“Finally, some answers.” Weiss sighed out. The two walked to the front of the classroom and sat down. The two were followed by Velvet and Coco, who handed them off the breakfast so Yang and Weiss could ask questions and speak. “Thank you, you two.” She turned towards the girls and smiled politely. Although, she really disliked being ‘served’ she was capable of getting the food herself. Though, it was a nice thought. “ Alright, first things first wh-”

 

“Why the hell am I someone's mother?!” Yang interrupted.

 

“Hey!” Weiss glared at Yang. Once more she sighed and leaned back in the chair. Though, she wasn’t mad; she knew that all her questions would be answered. Or so she had hoped. Besides, this was mostly all about Yang...and a little bit of Weiss. She was the one to get Yang to safety after all. Then again, there was the constant thought and implication that they were mates. This had yet to be validated.

 

Sun chuckled at the two girls, as did Coco and Velvet. Blake smirked and began to speak “Well, to be correct here you’re every guardians mother.”

 

“Every -  _ what _ ?” Yang replied and so did Weiss who added another “What?” towards the small amounts of silence.

 

“What she means is, you have lotsa ‘splaining to-do!” Sun chuckled to himself, he certainly seemed like the type for jokes. Blake rolled her eyes and pushed him over to which he dramatically fell over.

 

“No. What that means is you’re a Guardian. You’re the elite level. The only one. It is your job as a Guardian Mother to protect and teach your kind.” Blake crossed her arms and walked towards Yang and Weiss. Sun followed in behind, in a very sneaky manner but wasn’t really fooling anyone.

 

“Yeah, and I’m the Master Tactician. Or Father Tactician. I take care of all the Tactician types!” Sun boasted.

 

“I don’t understand?” Yang mumbled out. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her own arms now as she tried to make sense of what she had just been told. She looked over to Weiss who was looking back at her, just as confused as she was.

 

“Think of it like an RPG.” Velvet began, everyone had turned their heads to Velvet to listen in. 

 

“RPG?” Weiss looked lost even more. “Like a rocket propelled grenade?” 

 

“No, no. A role-playing game. You’ve got your tanks. The ones who take up all the damage and are the front line fighters. Or in this case, guardians. Then you’ve got the mages. There are those who can heal and put out damage with illusions or elemental magic. They fight in the back, and so here, we call them Tacticians. Lastly, there are rogue or ranger types. They’re another form of damage per second. They’re all about attacks and no defense. Here, they’re known as Berserkers.” Velvet paused taking a deep breath. “You.” she pointed to Yang. “Are a Guardian Mother. You can’t be killed as easily as the others can. You’re a protector. That’s...that’s how you found me.”

 

Yang and Weiss blinked wildly, taking all the strange information in. Neither of them had bothered with such things as video games. All this information was new and unknown to them.

 

“There’s more to it than just that.” Sun spoke, finally sounding a little serious. “Each elite has a certain ability when protecting their ‘young’” he had made air quotes around the word young “I am a Tactician Elite which provides me with more power than all of the tacticians who are lower ranked than I am. I can locate other monsters in a given location, whether they be guardian, tactician or berserker. The downside is, I can’t exactly give a pinpoint precision location.”

 

Yang tilted her head slightly. “Andddd….?” she still felt as if there was something missing as she still didn’t completely understand.

 

“This is where you come in.” Sun began to sit, or more like float on his tails. “If you are within that area, Yang. You can hear them and feel them. Especially if they are in danger. Again, it does not matter if they are G T or B.”

 

It had finally clicked to Yang. What Sun had said had finally made sense.

 

“Wait a second! If Yang is the Mother of Guardians and Sun is the Father of Tacticians is Velvet…?” Weiss spoke, a little out of turn mostly out of curiosity.

 

“Oh, no no. I  _ am _ a Berserker, but I’m normal. So to speak.” Velvet replied with a smile. “I’m just a representative.” 

 

“Where’s the...elite Berserker?” Yang asked. 

 

Both Blake and Sun seemed to have bit their lip. Blake looked over at Sun and nodded, as if they had already felt this question coming.

 

“She’s been...captured.” Blake stated calmly.

 

“What?!” Yang and Weiss both bellowed out.

 

“She’s alive. That’s all we know.” Blake said.

 

“You know where she is then?” Yang replied sounding rather concerned.

 

“Yes, but again, not exactly.” Sun added.

 

“Is this the  _ real _ reason why I’m here then?” Yang raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yes and no.” Blake answered. “You’ve got a bigger part to play than just that. You give the guardians hope. Hope that they can be themselves in human and monster forms. Not only just the guardians, but you’ll most likely give Berserkers hope too. With you and Sun now, it’ll be less likely that…” Blake paused and sighed “It’ll be less likely that they lose themselves without someone leading them.” 

 

“Lose themselves?” Weiss questioned the word.

 

“Without an Elite to guide them, they will lose their way. Elites have the ability to teach them about transformation and their power. Elites have an aura about them that calms their own kind. With the combination of the elite and mates it would be rare for a monster to lose themselves as it it nearly impossible to.” Blake explained.

 

“Wait, mates. You said that word again. What does it mean?” Weiss now questioned.

 

“Just exactly what you think it means.” Sun grinned. Weiss just glared at him.

 

“Well, he isn’t wrong.” Blake scrunched her nose, and thwaped Sun in the ear. “Mates are just sort for soulmates. As soon as someone is born, they have a destiny. Romantically or platonically, in almost every and any way we are meant to fulfil that role of destiny wherever it may lead us. Some people are granted soulmates. Whether or not Yang had turned into a monster, you still would’ve met her and would’ve kept meeting her until you two ended up together.” Blake took a short pause then continued “Being a monster makes that easier. I heard the comment Velvet had said to you earlier. It probably left you a bit confused.”

 

“Yeah, something about being official…” Weiss muttered.

 

“Your chest is glowing isn’t it?” Blake said.

 

“Well, yeah isn’t it obvious?!” Weiss gestured to her chest.

 

“No. Not really. Humans with no affiliation or relation to a monster have no way of knowing you’re the mate of Yang. Only people like Coco and Velvet can see that you belong to Yang.” 

 

“ _ Belong _ ?” Weiss eyed Blake.

 

“Okay, I think I might have worded that a little weird.” Blake admitted with a sigh. “You two belong to each other. Coexist. The fact that you glow, means you’re a perfect match. You can always find each other. Whatever situation you two might be in.”

 

“That does make sense.” Weiss mumbled. She remembered back on how she ran through the forest to find Yang. She found her with ease. Almost instinctually. 

 

“Okay, yeah. That explains the scent, I guess.” Yang said aloud.

 

“Scent?” Weiss turned to her with a confused look on her face. “What scent?” 

 

Weiss and Yang now turned to Sun and Blake. Sun who was grinning widely and Blake giving a weird smile. They now looked to Velvet and Coco who also had a strange smile about them.

 

“Scents are common within mates. Monsters can smell their mates scents. Each scent is individual and unique. They also indicate…” Blake paused.

 

“Arousal and Mating, but mostly finding where they are!” Sun said nonchalantly.

 

“What?!” Both girls said, with their faces showing signs of redness.

 

“Straight to the point, aren’t we?” Blake eyed Sun, who gave a playful grin towards her “Well, what Sun said is pretty accurate. There is more to it than just that. Scents do help with finding your mate, but that’s the scent that you  _ can’t _ smell. It’s rare if you can. The scent that Yang smells is Weiss’s. The smell itself appears the most when she’s ready to mate for the month. It also will appear when she’s aroused in general. So, whenever you two are getting a little more...intimate, the smell will continue to grow the more your partner is aroused.” Blake finished with flicking Sun on the ear.

 

“Ow, what was that for?!”

 

“Why can’t you be less subtle for once” 

 

Sun grinned and nudged her lightly with one of his arms. “They’ve got a lot to catch up on. Why make it complicated?”

 

“All of this is complicated! Have you seen the situation we’re in?” Blake eyed him, giving him a deadpan look.

 

“You’re not wrong…” Sun grinned widely. 

 

Yang blushed furiously while the two had spoke. She had smelled Weiss’s scent several times. Was it arousal? Her time of ‘the month’? It still made little sense to her. She vividly remembered the early morning the two shared. She had nearly ‘attacked’ Weiss due to her scent being too damn strong. It had dawned on her that she had possibly made Weiss turned on. Yang turned to Weiss who was staring at her a little oddly.

 

“What are you blushing about?” Weiss had a certain tone to her voice, one that demanded to know why Yang was now quiet and red in the face.

 

Yang shook her head. Not wanting to admit that she knew that she had turned on Weiss. She needed to change the subject and quickly. 

 

“Sun, is it alright if I ask you a question why are you in monster form, and how are you talking to us?” Yang rushed the sentence out as she turned her attention back to Sun, and away from Weiss. She could feel a judgemental stare coming from Weiss in her peripherals. 

 

Sun’s usual cheery and playful demeanor changed into one of subtle sadness. “Ahh, well about that…” he began, his tone had clearly changed too. Blake looked a little sympathetic. Blake and Sun must have known that this question was going to be one that would be asked. It had seemed like a rather tough question, regardless. 

 

“You want me to tell them?” Blake asked in an unusually soft tone for her own demeanor.

 

“No, no. It’s something that I should deal with. I’ve done this several times, another time won’t hurt.” Sun sighed as Blake put a hand on his back to comfort him. 

 

“Well, you see...mates provide us with more than you can imagine. They help us keep our sanity and our humanity. When our human mates are killed in the same spot that we are bounded by - in this case my eye - so his eye as well we lose our humanity. Most monsters by now would have gone insane. Since, I’m the Father of Tacticians my humanity and sanity are much stronger than a normal monsters. Monster elites like us can live on safely if our partners die, but at the price of losing our human forms...and well, losing the one we love the most. Normal monsters would’ve lost their sense of humanity within several hours, going on a rampage.”

 

“That sounds horrible.” Weiss muttered sadly.

 

“What happens when the monsters die?” Yang curiously asked.

 

“Your partner complete forgets the fact that you existed.” Sun stated calmly. He seemed rather morose about the whole subject, though it was obvious to see why. Sun had lost a partner.

 

“W-what? I would forget that Yang existed? What about my friends who know about Yang?!” Weiss sputtered out.

 

Blake brows furrowed and narrowed as her eyes now rested on Weiss. 

“You have friends that know about Yang? Do they know about what she is?!” Blake sounded a little mad.

 

Weiss nodded. She felt an overwhelming sense of uneasiness as Blake glared at her. 

 

“Do they know where she is?” Blake asked now closing in on Weiss.

 

Weiss backed up in her seat, almost falling into Yang’s lap. To which Yang held her up from behind.

 

“No! Why would it be a big deal?! We’re all over the news anyways!” Weiss yelled out.

 

“Look, we can’t get anyone else from the outside involved. There are people looking for us - you guys. They could take friends or family members hostage if outsiders knew too much.” Blake hovered over the two girls as she stood and they sat.

 

“What are you talking about?” Yang now felt a bit defensive. “Hostages? Who? What?”

 

“Look, this is bigger than you know. The people who have captured the Berserker have plans for all of us. Helping you is a risk that I’m willing to take, but we can’t get anyone else involved. You can’t keep those friends anymore, because guess what, they’ll forget too. There is a small chance that they’ll forget you too.” She pointed to Weiss.

 

“Why would they?” Weiss replied.

 

“There are links and bonds to human destiny. The bond that is severed between mates, for the humans, is a lot stronger and that being cut will cause a ripple effect throughout fate lines. In other words, your ties to other people will be cut and none of us know why it  _ just _ affects the humans in the relationship.”

 

“So are you saying I can’t call my sister?” Yang now asked with a hint of concern.

 

“Yes and no.” Blake answered. “You’d have to call through a secured line that I set up. Chances are your sister has already been harassed and questioned. Did she know?”

 

“Yeah. She did.” Yang responded. “But she’s my sister. She wouldn’t give me away. Trust me. I just need to talk to her. To let her know that I’m alright.”

 

Blake sighed. “Outside connections are a risk. Especially if they’re not working with us. Monsters families are less likely to give up their own child, same with family members no one wants to lose a sibling. The humans in the relationship are more likely to be pulled or harassed out of the relationship which is why Weiss, that it is such a risk to have outside connections for you. If they know who Yang is that is. Your parents and friends who know, may try to out you. Or worse if they know your relationship with a monster. Bad things have happened before and I am more concerned with your safety then your platonic relationships with other people.”

 

“Chill, Blake.” Sun commented. “They’re allowed to have friends. We’ve got me. Remember?” Sun gestured to himself.

 

“How long can you keep up your powers? Sun, we don’t exactly have an unlimited supply of you.” Blake rolled her eyes.

 

“There’s an irony if I ever heard one.” Sun grinned. “Don’t worry. I’m not near my limit. Keeping up the illusions have been a breeze to say the least.” 

 

Blake sighed. “Fine, outside connections are  _ okay _ for you two, for now.”

 

Yang turned to Coco and Velvet. “What about them?”

 

“Don’t worry about us.” Coco said. “We’ve only got two outside connections that we really care about and they know and understand.”

 

“We’ve already got this concerned lecture.” Velvet said with a wink.

 

“Okay, okay! Do you two have any more questions?” Blake brought back their attention.

 

“Just one more for right now…” Yang began, now leaning back in her chair and swinging her legs onto the table. 

 

“How do you two know all of this?” 

 

“Experience.” Sun simply said. “Research helps too.” He poked at Blake’s side. “It also helps to know that Blake y’know once worked for the people who made you who you are.” He commented nonchalantly.

 

“ _ What? _ ” Both of the girls had said in unison. They were making an awfully bad habit of it. To Yang and Weiss’s surprise Velvet and Coco had also seemed fairly shocked at the admittance.

 

“Sun! You can’t just say something like that.” Blake pulled him off to the side and spoke to him in a low whisper.

 

“What? I can’t?” Sun whispered to her. “We’d have to tell them sooner or later so why not now? Class is in session, and they’re ready to learn, Blake. You can’t expect to run away or hide from your problems forever.”

 

Blake glared at him. She bit her lip, knowing in a way, that he was right.

“We were made? Like in a lab?” Yang asked with a certain repulse to her tone.

 

“No, no.” Blake quickly replied trying to ease the situation. “Not like that. You’re not lab experiments, but you were exposed to an airborne virus that was released…Look, I...I don’t think I can handle talking to you all about this right now. I don’t know if this is the right time to do so.”

 

Yang stood up, there was a fury in her eyes. It was almost as if a switch had flipped in the sudden revelation. “You can’t handle talking to us about this? When you were apparently apart of this? You ruined lives! You’ve ruined so many kids lives and you can’t tell us now?” She banged her fists on the table. There was a certain aura emanating about Yang. It was a dangerous one. She hopped over the desk and walked towards Blake. “I can’t see my sister because of you?! All because of some virus?! Do you know how many people have been  _ killed  _ because of this? We can’t return home because of you!”

 

“It’s not just me!” Blake stepped back from the furious Yang. “I was against it! Why do you think I gathered all of you here?! I’m making sure you’re safe!”

 

“That’s...that’s not good enough!” Yang roared at her. Yang's eyes began to dilate. Within almost an instance Yang had transformed into a monster and swiped at Blake. 

 

But she instead hit a barrier created by Sun who was standing in front of her. Yang eyed Sun through the barrier. 

 

“Why are you protecting her?! She made you like that!” she roared out. 

 

“Yang, listen to me. There are somethings we just can’t understand. Sometimes, destiny screws us over! You don’t need to get upset over this!” Sun responded in a calm manner, still keeping the barrier up.

 

“Listen to you? LOOK AT YOU! LOOK AT ME?!”she pushed against the barrier. She managed to push back Sun in the slightest. Yang took a couple of steps back. “We’re monsters! That’s all the outside is ever going to see!” Yang had begun charging herself up for a ramming attack. The exoskeleton now flattened themselves on her fur, making her body a battering ram of raw power.

 

“Only if you keep behaving like that!” Sun now yelled back. In the background Velvet and Coco had cleared the room, while Weiss looked on in horror nearby.

 

Yang now charged the barrier as soon as she hit the barrier she was met by a rather large pulsation wave that sent her flying to the back of the room. Sun put down his barrier and nodded to Weiss who looked over at the bestial Yang. “Paper beats rock every time!~” Sun cracked his knuckles as he poked the anxious Blake besides him.

 

“I didn’t think she’d freak out that hard…” muttered Blake. “I can’t blame her..”

“Wait until you talk to Weiss about Winter.” Sun made a sympathetic face towards Blake. They were luckily out of earshot from the two girls, but regardless Sun was met with a light flick to his nose.

 

“Don’t...don’t mention her name. I know I’ll have to tell her how, but..it won’t be me that’s not prepared.” Blake sighed.

 

In the meanwhile Yang recovered from her blow, she was still in monster form as she had arisen. She was met by Weiss who stopped her in her tracks.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Weiss’s voice demanded an answer from the girl. “You can’t just attack people at will when you’re angry!”

 

“I’m just a monster Weiss. Didn’t you hear her? I was made like this...I…” 

 

“Yes, I heard the same conversation you did you dolt! Being a monster doesn’t change who you are inside! I didn’t realize you were such a hot-headed brute though. Now, I understand, but you’re not alone. None of these kids are alone. Not in here at least. Now this where you come in and it’s why you’re here. You’re here to help. Didn’t you hear Blake and Sun before? You can teach them how to control their power. Though now, I’m not even sure you know how to control yours. Either way, we can’t let what we know change who we are. We can build from it. We can make it better and I’m here with you. We all are every step of the way.” Weiss finished her little monologue with a sigh and patted Yang’s snout.

 

With that Yang immediately transformed back into human form.

 

“I’m sorry.” Yang muttered apologetically. 

 

Sun and Blake had made their way up to the two girls.

 

“This must have been a lot for you to take on. Why don’t you two just go back and continue to get settled in? You can start your own classes tomorrow.” Sun commented.

 

“Blake, I’m so-...”

 

“No, don’t say it. I’m the one who should be sorry. There was more I could’ve done.” Blake interrupted Yang.

 

“You tried though, right?”

 

Blake nodded at the question.

 

“That’s all that matters then.”

Weiss and Yang had begun to walk out of the room when Blake called to Weiss. “Hey, Weiss...Can I set up something with you?”

 

Weiss looked at Blake and raised an eyebrow. “Sure?” 

 

Weiss turned to Yang who now said “I’ll wait for you outside.”

 

“Okay.” Weiss smiled, but before she could turn she was met with a kiss atop her forehead. It was quick and subtle but it left a fluttery sensation running through Weiss’s body. “W-what was that for?”

 

“The pep talk.” Yang grinned, now seeming like her own usual self. “Talking dirty like that just may earn you more.” She teased.

 

Weiss blushed and rolled her eyes as Yang walked out of the classroom, Sun soon following behind.

 

Weiss and Blake now privately held the room to themselves.

 

“I don’t know when I should do this.” Blake began nervously.”So whenever Yang is teaching, do you mind if I talk to you about something important?”

 

“Why can’t we do it now?” Weiss asked curiously.

 

“I...after the events of today, I think it might be best to wait a little while with the news that I have and I don’t want to 100% surprise you with the information, but...but it’s about the virus and how it began.” Blake had begun to speed up her talking, indicating at nervousness.

 

“What does this have to do with me?” Weiss raised an eyebrow.

 

“Not just you, but…” Blake paused looking for the right words “You know, if I say anymore I’m afraid it’ll be too much. We’ll discuss this another time, okay?”

 

Weiss glared and nodded. Weiss left the room and caught up with Yang. The two were brushing their hands against one another. Blake had left the room behind Weiss and was nearly tackled by a waiting Sun.

 

“Watch it!” Blake said.

 

“Heh. You think those two will ever get it right?”

 

“The hand-holding?”

 

“Duhh…” Sun grinned. “So, Weiss looks to be in a decent mood. I’m guessing you didn’t tell her yet?”

 

Blake had waited for the two girls to get out of earshot once more as they walked ahead. 

 

Blake shook her head.

 

“No. How can I tell her that I helped to kill Winter?”

 

“That wasn’t your fault.” Sun said sternly, almost as if he had heard the confession a million times. “You didn’t know.”

 

“I should have, Sun. I should have.” 

 


	11. Monsters: Sun Wukong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, what? Me? Procrastinate on chapters? WHAT NONSENSE?? Pffft...(I'm so sorry please don't kill me..)

**Sun Wukong / Vacuo / Years Ago**

 

Making friends was always an easy task for a looker like Sun Wukong. He had been considered an image of perfection ever since he was young. He was fast, agile, and fit. His athleticism wasn’t the only thing that he could boast about as Sun was also intelligent. Though, this aspect of his was often overlooked by his peers. All they could care about was his look and his personality, to which most could say he was a laid-back jokester.

Growing up for Sun too, was easy. His parents were fairly lenient as they were a proud duo, their son was perfect in every which way.

 

It was simple enough to say that Sun himself had plenty of friends too.

 

When he hit middle school, well that’s when everything had changed. For the first time in his life he seemed to have competition. This isn’t what bothered Sun at all, what bothered Sun is the fact that the ‘competition’ actually made it  _ into  _ a competition. At least, that was what he got from the atmosphere of the middle school.  

 

For some odd reason, Sun took this new challenge to heart. Middle school was about who was the best after all, right? 

 

His competitor was a spunky-sauve blue-haired kid who had transferred from a different schooling district. His physique was similar to Sun’s own body, though let’s be real here - Sun was definitely the most fit out of the two. The only difference was the the blue-haired kid was slightly taller.

 

All his life Sun was #1. Now he couldn’t let this go, he couldn’t let this newcomer take his spotlight. The new kid even had some dorky name. Neptune Vasilias was his name. More often than not when speaking about the kid, Sun would mess up his last name. It was hard to say if it was on purpose or not.

 

They hadn’t really shared any of the same classes, so it was hard to gauge how good the guy was around the ladies. The only class they had actually shared was gym class. A true arena for the two faux-Gods. 

 

Their first incident had occurred in gym class. It was a classic game of dodgeball. The two had been picked as team captains. Luckily, this wasn’t a co-ed class so the two were going to be as rough as ever.

 

The two picked their teammates from an array of guys. Sun had gotten stuck with one of the scrawny kids named Scarlet. Though, the Scarlet kid wasn’t bad at all, he was at times really awkward and dumb. (Though, it was hard to tell if this was intentional by the red-haired kid.) While, Neptune had gotten one of the brutes in the gym class, Sage. He was a quiet boy, but he was slightly taller than Neptune was which made Sage an intimidating factor.

The rules of the dodgeball game where like any other. A team of 5. If you’re hit, you’re out. Don’t cross the midline. If you catch the ball, you can bring one of your teammates back in. At least more than 3 balls were in play the whole time.

 

In total, there were four separate teams. Suns team, Neptunes team and two other teams who would easily get eliminated from the competition. Up first was Sun teams versus one of the other teams. Their captain was a brunette boy, with average features. Sun sized up him and the rest of the boy’s teammates. This would be an easy win.

 

The two teams lined up against the wall, while the other two teams sat on the bleachers watching their two opponents. Sun looked over at his nemesis. The two locked eyes, and Neptune smirked at him. He mouthed the words ‘don’t choke.’ to him and winked.

 

Sun quickly looked away. How dare he look so good on the sidelines! How dare he imply that Sun would ever choke against anything so miniscule! Just look at his opponent...so plain!

 

Within almost an instant the whistle blew for the match to begin. All of the boys on each team had sprinted towards the center where the balls had laid. Sun managed to grab one ball, toss it back and grab one for himself. One of the opponents had immediately picked up a ball to throw it at him, but Sun was quicker than that. The ball came flying fast towards his torso, but he managed to spin as the ball now flew passed him. He looked at the kid who threw it at him and grinned as he released his own ball he was holding. He hit the kid straight in the gut. Who keeled over in pain, then quickly got up to see himself off the battlefield.

 

The game was underway. It was a best two out of three. The winner of this would be facing whichever group won that was sitting on the bench. To Sun’s surprise, as derpy as the Scarlet was he was pretty good at dodgeball as he and Sun were always the last one standing against the other kids group.

 

The game soon ended as there was a clean-sheet win for Sun’s team. They had won every game. It was their turn to take a break and watch Neptune and Sage. 

 

Before leaving the court, Sun and Neptune came face to face with one another.

 

“Bet you’ve never seen balls handled like that before!”  Sun smirked, remaining completely innocent in his words. Sun, was also lucky that no one but Neptune had heard him as his word choice was fairly poor in this situation.

 

Neptune responded with a small amount of laughter mixed with him trying to choke it down. Though, Neptune responded in the kind, “I’ll show you how a REAL man handles balls.” 

 

The two now clashed foreheads, sneering and pushing at each other. Although their display of ‘manliness’ was a less impressive display towards the gym coach who knocked their heads together and told them to “knock it off”

 

The two clutched at their heads, trying to let the pain subside as they made their way to respective places. Neptune made his way to the court, while Sun went to go sit on the benches.

 

Sun kept his glare strong on the blue-haired menace. Before the game began, Neptune looked towards him with a small fire in his eye. Sun mocked him by mouthing ‘don’t choke’ and then winking at him. Neptune’s face went momentarily red then looked towards his opponent in a moment of focus.

 

Sun grinned to himself.  _ The nerd totally got intimidated by me! His face was so red.  _

 

The match between Neptune and the other group had begun. Sun kept his eyes glued to Neptune, and a little bit of Sage. He wanted to know all his moves, motives, and reflexes to make sure that he would win against him. So far, it was hard to get a grasp of any sort of weakness. Neptune’s opponents didn’t even make him break a sweat. Sage himself was big, and a little slow to the reaction. Sun was sure that he’d be able to solo most of Neptune’s team. Neptune was the only problem. Typical.

 

Before he knew it, it was all over. Neptune’s team had a clean sweep as well. Now, it was time for Sun’s and Neptune’s team to face off. This would definitely be tougher than the other kids. A small break was given to Neptune’s team so they wouldn’t be completely worn out, but instead became a little more rowdy.

 

Once more, Sun and Neptune came face to face.

 

“I’m gonna kick your butt!” Neptune began, with a rude tone.

 

“No, I’m gonna kick your butt!” Sun responded.

 

The two, were now chest to chest in another display of who was the bigger, better, and more boisterous man. 

 

The coach blew his whistle, as he somehow, once more had sneakily approached them. The two flew apart from one another eyes still locked on the other.

 

The two made their way to their respective sides, as Neptune and Sun snarled at each other from across the room.

 

“Alright boys, this one will be for everything. One game. One winner.” the coach said loudly. “You all know the rules. We will begin when I blow the…” TWEEET. The coach blew the whistle catching both of the teams off guard.

 

In a blink, the two teams had ran towards the balls and back up. This would be a tough match. Sun and Scarlet had managed to get out most of the opposing team to which now only Neptune and Sage stood.

 

The four remaining competitors were drenched in sweat. Sun and Scarlet stood with their backs against the walls, as did Sage and Neptune. There was an atmosphere of understanding for a quick break and for discussion of plan.

 

Scarlet had agreed to sacrifice himself in order to get Sage out, in whatever way he could.

 

The two teams had an equal amount of balls to each side. The duo of each side now stepped closer. Scarlet with one ball in hand, and Sun with two. Neptune held onto two balls, as Sage held one.

 

“Hey, big fella! Yeah you, ya big brute!” Scarlet called out, now trying to mock and distract Sage with faces and awkward movements. Sage scowled at Scarlet. The distraction had worked as Sun threw one ball at him as he was caught off guard. Scarlet, too  was eliminated as Neptune had thrown his spare ball at him quite harshly. The ball, had unironically hit him in his own balls. Everyone in the room flinched.

 

“Crap. Sorry!” Neptune muttered, seeming genuinely sorry for his aim. Though, in reality he knew that Scarlet deserved it for mocking Sage.

 

They waited several moments for Scarlet to recover and remove himself from the battlefield. Now, it was one versus one. Sun versus Neptune.

 

The two glared at each other. Sun made the first move, but Neptune skillfully dodged this throw as well as he had dodged all the others that were thrown at him. Neptune retaliated, but Sun dodged just as well as he did. The two continuously battled, going from throwing one ball at a time to now two in quick succession. Both of them seemed to have dodged and danced to and fro as they battled. 

 

Both of them began to breath hard, with their sweat dripping off of their foreheads.

 

“JUST LOSE ALREADY!” Neptune yelled out harshly.

 

“THE ONLY ONE LOSING HERE IS GOING TO BE YOU!” Sun returned the yell.

 

Both of them stepped closer towards the line, as they stood several feet across from each other. Both of them wound up, and prepared to throw one of the hardest and fastest throws of their lives. As they let go, both balls whooshed passed each other and hit both Sun and Neptune square in the face simultaneously. The two boys fell over, knocked out. 

 

The class sat there stunned. Only to burst out into a riot of laughter. The coach shook his head and proceeded to carry them to the nurse's office. The two had woken up an hour later, arguing with one another that the other got knocked out first. Each boy still believed they had won.

 

The second incident occurred a year later, they were still in middle school. 7th grade. It was a gorgeous day outside, and so the coach had decided they’d do some relays. Both of the boys had already joined the middle school track team, and knew that they could never beat one another in the races. But who said that today couldn’t be the day? 

 

The four boys: Sun, Scarlet, Sage, and Neptune had become the oddest of friends. Sun and Neptune were always strangely competitive towards each other. That was something they knew couldn’t be put aside. In whatever they did. More often than not, Scarlet would wager that neither of them could outdrink each other. One of the several side incidents that had occurred was when they each tried to chug a gallon of milk. The both of them threw up half-way through and all Scarlet and Sage did was laugh at their competitiveness. It was a fun sight to see.

 

But today, the two were in their over-dramatics mode. 

 

In the locker room, a small fight almost broke out between the two boys.

 

“You’re slow, Wukong. You couldn’t beat a sloth.” Neptune sneered, as he held his gym shirt at his side. His young body was fit, slim, and he had hit another growth spurt.

 

“At least, I’m not a snail loser like you! You’re gonna get PWNED!” Sun retaliated. He too was in top form compared to Neptune. The two were middle school Gods among middle school men!

 

Neptune pushed against Sun with his chest in a display of dominance, with his shirt bunched up in his fist to his side. Sun pushed backed and the two butted heads. Sage and Scarlet pulled the two back.

 

“Chill out ya wankers, you’re gonna get your chance to prove ya worth.” Scarlet rolled his eyes and headed out to the track, Sage shook his head and followed behind Scarlet.

 

The two huffed at each other and put their shirts on in a hurry and ran out the door.

 

The coach eyed the class, especially Neptune and Sun. He was used to their shenanigans by now. This to him, would be no different. Besides, it was secretly the highlight of the coaches day when the two boys would compete. He had never seen such a competitiveness between two boys. It filled his heart with a coaches joy.

 

“All right boys. Today, we run. We run until you all puke or I get tired of watching you puke.” He stated with a heavy tone.

 

“I thought today was relay day!” Neptune complained out loud. 

 

“It is. Whoever finishes 3 miles first, and then does 10 suicides gets to leave early and earns an A for the class. How does that sound?”

 

Neptune and Sun looked at each other with a fire in their eyes and mischievous grin. 

 

“It’s on.” 

 

The rest of the class seemed to groan and everyone lined up on the starting line. Sun and Neptune were in the front of the line. Ready.

 

The coach blew his whistle and Sun and Neptune had  _ sprinted _ off. The two were in the front, head to head. They had managed to lap several boys already. Including Scarlet who was half-assedly running. Sage made it look like he was trying or something along those lines.

 

The boys continued with their face pace. Neither of them letting up. Not wanting to give the other an advantage. 

 

Both boys had managed for a 15 - 16 minute 3 mile run. Both of them were breathing hard, but immediately made their way to the field so they could begin their suicide runs.

 

They both took off within an instant and had finished without stopping. Though, at the end of their runs both of them looked at each other. Sweat covering their faces and by then they had removed their shirts.

 

“Y-you…”

 

“Y-you..” both boys had begun to say something to one another, but had immediately passed out due to fatigue.

 

By then Scarlet and Sage had made their way to them and carried them off to the nurse's office.

 

Once more the boys had each declared themselves the winner of the competition, but in actuality no true winner was to be had as both boys had once more tied.

 

This was an endless curse. Neither boys could seem to have the upperhand on one another when it came to competing fair and square. The only way to win would be to cheat, but they had too much respect for one another to not actually do that. Though, they never told that to the other.

 

It was when the last year of their middle school days that everything would change. One final competition that would seemingly throw every competition away and start something new.

 

In 8th grade, the school finally had opened up a swimming pool. Their school was somewhat new, and fairly slow to the grind of things. They HAD a pool, it just was never ready until they had hit the 8th grade. To the luck of the 8th graders of the school. 

 

They had been told to come to school with swimming briefs the next day. Sun and Neptune were always at it still. Arguing who would be the best. Little did Neptune know that Sun was a great swimmer and was already practicing to be a lifeguard. Sun for sure knew he had the advantage, and this by his standards, wasn’t cheating.

 

The two appeared in the locker rooms, but something was off about Neptune. By now he would be loud and obnoxious. Always starting a fight. This time he seemed pale, and quiet. 

 

“Hey, Neptune! Cat got your tongue?!” Sun chided. Trying to rile him up.

 

Neptune turned towards him and with a slight shake in his voice retaliated in weak form. “Yeah, whatever nerd.”

 

What sort of comeback was that for Neptune? It was unusual to say the least and to brush Sun off like that? What was up with him?

 

Everyone in class had gotten into their swimming trunks and headed towards the pools.

 

Neptune was the last one out. Was he...shaking?

 

“Everyone in the pool!” the coach had called out. Sun had wondered what would be in store for today. 

 

Wait a second…

 

Was Neptune trying to pull something? This would surely be new and a surprise. Is he taking a different approach or…

 

Sun watched as Neptune carefully tiptoed  _ around _ the pool. He never actually made an entrance. Everyone else had already jumped in, including Sun, Sage, and Scarlet. Sage and Scarlet seemed to be talking to some other classmates.

 

“Neptune! What are you waiting for? Get in there!” Coach had called out from a distance and slowly approached the tall, skinny yet fit kid.

 

“G-g-got it coach.” Neptune seemed to genuinely stutter. 

 

Was he…?

 

No, it couldn’t be..

 

Sun watched as Neptune nervously eyed the water. He still refused to get in after being told to. Neptune had held his arms wrapped around himself, almost in a timid sort of fashion.

 

“Neptune.” the coach now had a hand on his shoulder. “Since you’re being difficult it seems like the only thing we can do here now is…”

 

“TOSS HIM IN!!” one boy in the pool yelled out, watching the whole ordeal. By now the whole class had eyes on him. “Yeah!!” Several boys added in with gusto.

 

“TOSS HIM IN” they began to chant. Except for Sun. 

 

Something within Sun clicked. He watched as the coach and another boy who had gotten out of the pool to help him with the process.

 

“No, don’t!” Sun called out, but his voice was drowned out by laughter and cheers and chants.

 

Neptune seemed to struggle with no avail as the two had picked him up and now threw him into the deep end.

 

Neptune sank. He didn’t seem to struggle or move.

 

The class momentarily went quiet as they watched the oddity occur. Low murmurs and whispers could be heard. The coach and the boy who had tossed him in were no longer laughing and appeared to be a little white. 

 

“What the FUCK is wrong with you all?” Sun now swam towards the sunken Neptune and dove down. Neptune had sunken rather fast.

 

With great strength he brought up Neptunes body and put him on the edge with the help of Sage. Sun had climbed out and had checked Neptunes pulse. 

 

Sun now gave him mouth to mouth, and proceeded to go through heimlich like maneuvers. The class watched him and sat quietly. Within several moments, Neptune sputtered out water from his mouth and opened his eyes.

“Hey, glad you’re okay.” Sun said in a soft tone to Neptune. He then turned to everyone else, “BUT YOU ARE ALL ASSHOLES!” he angrily said. He helped Neptune up and took him back to the locker rooms.

 

The coach nor the class bothered to stop them. The tension in the air was thick and so class continued without them.

 

“Thanks.” Neptune muttered out, wiping his eyes as he spoke.

 

“Why didn’t you just say you couldn’t swim?” Sun asked in a gentle tone.

 

“It’s not just that. I guess you could say I have aquaphobia. I’m fine in showers and stuff like that, but bigger bodies of water...I can’t get in or I just pass out instantly because at that point I’m having a mini-heart attack.” Neptune said quietly with an embarrassed look upon his face.

 

“Dude. You could’ve just like died there. Why?”

 

“I don’t want to lose to you…”

 

“Because of our competition?! That’s ridiculous. I don’t want you to DIE over stuff like this! We’re not even in high school yet!”

 

“So, no more competitions…?”

 

“Yeah, no more. I can lose a competition, but I can’t lose you.” Sun paused and coughed on his words. He blushed slightly. “Y-you know what I mean.” he scratched the back of his neck.

 

Neptune was at a slight loss for words as he too was blushing. 

 

“We have to learn how to chill out and be cool with each other, alright?” Sun added. “Sooo...friends? And not like weird frenemy competitive-out-the-ass friends?”

 

Neptune chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, we can be friends. Sounds a lot more fun that constantly passing out each year.” He paused and twiddled his thumbs together. “Can I ask you a question, Sun?”

 

“Shoot.”

 

“Why did you even bother competing with me at all? I mean, thinking back on it we’re kinda dumb.” He laughed. “Were we trying to prove something to one another?”

 

Sun was standing at this point and had leaned back onto one of the lockers. His mind wandered for the moment, trying to find an actual reason as to why they would’ve gone on this long with this stupidity. He momentarily looked at Neptune who had taken a seat, next to his own locker, then went back to thinking to himself.

 

He shook himself out his glazed look, and brought his attention back to Neptune. “Honestly, I think I saw you as a threat.” He chuckled to himself, not sure if what he was saying actually made sense. “When you walked into this school. There was just this weird aura about you. Everything about you was just so bright.” He walked a little closer towards Neptune who was looking up at him as he spoke. “I didn’t know how to take it so I thought that being...your rival would make me the better man.”

 

Sun now sat down next to Neptune, giving him a rather apologetic look. Really, his own explanation, now that he was saying it out loud sounded completely ridiculous. He was more or less ashamed of this reasoning. “I don’t know if that even makes sense to you. I guess it was just my mentality. I was always...number one, but with you around I guess...I guess I didn’t feel as if this town would be big enough for the two of us!” he now tried to joke - it brought out a small snicker from Neptune. 

 

“You thought I’d be number one?” Neptune now asked.

 

Sun nodded. “Sounds silly, huh?”

 

“I can’t really blame you though.” Neptune smirked.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I am the best looking guy in the 8th grade.” Neptune now made a joke of his own.

 

Sun laughed, but instead of retaliating with his own usual antics - “Yeah, you’re pretty handsome. I can’t deny that.”

 

“Yea- Wait…” Neptune blushed and turned away from Sun. “You were supposed to be an ass about it.” He added with his head still turned away.

 

“What, you don’t think you’re good looking?” Sun commented, now trying to get a better look at Neptune’s face. 

 

“I am, it’s just that...now it just seems like you’ve actually been flirting with me this whole time and have been hiding it under the guise of being a dumb old rival.” Neptune now turned to Sun looking him square in the eye. “That’s too cliche.” 

 

Sun’s eyebrows raised as he gave him a very odd look. “Is it?” 

 

Sun had begun to lean in, he could feel the heat rising in both of their faces. Neptune was blushing harshly at this point. He didn’t want to move away, part of him wasn’t sure if he wanted this or not but he just had to try. Sun’s lips finally found their destinations on Neptunes. It was an awkward kiss. Had Sun ever kissed anyone before? Sun’s hand lightly caressed the side of Neptune's face. The kiss wasn’t 100% perfect, it was apparent that Sun had some work to do, but Neptune had to admit that there was certain aura and peace about it. Something that told him that this was only going to get better and feel better given the time.

 

Sun finally pulled back and gave Neptune a cheeky grin. He scratched the nape of his neck. “Sooo…” Sun began, “How was that?”

 

“You definitely need some work.” Neptune was still mid-blush.

 

“Think you can help me?”

 

“Isn’t that what friends are for?” Neptune grinned and the two of them laughed together.

 

///

 

From then on Sun and Neptune were inseparable, but in a very good way. The two had eventually told Scarlet and Sage what had happened between the two in the locker room and the two didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Scarlet had made a bet with Sage that the two would get together, Sage lost. Sun and Neptune laughed at the fact.

 

The two took it slow with one another, learning and loving together. They didn’t officially call themselves a couple until they were out of highschool. But everybody knew, and most didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to Sun was Neptune - and vice versa. 

 

It wasn’t until their third year of college that the “outbreak” happened. 

 

Sun watched as the outroar of these monsters overtook the media for almost every breaking news story. He couldn’t help but feel connected, in someway.

 

Soon enough he was.

 

Luckily, the discovery of his own “monstrous” aspect was when it was an indoor date night. Movie night.

 

The lights were dim, the movie was a scary one, but there was one little annoying factor outside of the movie itself.

 

“Babe, I thought I told you to turn off your phone light.” Neptune said, his attention towards the dark movie.

“It is?” He looked at Neptune, who now had weird light cast on him. It definitely wasn’t the movie.

 

Neptune looked back at him and his jaw nearly dropped. He let out a screech. 

 

“Y-your eye!” 

 

Sun paused the movie and ran to the restroom. A weird glow was emanating from his eye. Neptune had followed him in there.

 

“W-what do I do? This is the most obvious one!” Sun looked slightly panicked.

 

“You can wear sunglasses?” Neptune quickly threw out. “You can grow out your hair!”

 

“I can’t wear sunglasses forever and I don’t really want to look like an emo kid my whole life.” Sun laid his head on the shoulder of Neptune, or well tried to.

 

“Do you want to get caught?”

 

“Well no, but I can’t go to class with sunglasses on!”

 

Neptune nodded. “You’re right. How about we say you have pink eye, or o-oh! How about you left the country?”

 

Sun scrunched his face. “The pink eye could only work for so long, but really, leaving the country?”

 

Neptune shrugged. “Worth a shot…” he muttered. “We’ll figure it out...don’t worry, okay?”

 

A few weeks had passed, and Sun had stayed hidden within his single person dormitory. This was a concern, not only for Sun and Neptune but for several of his friends on campus. His ‘bros’ could only assume the worst. That he was dead.

 

Sure enough, on one fateful day his dormitory was raided. Something, he should’ve seen coming, but he didn’t have that great of future vision...well, at the time. Sun hadn’t taken the time to practice what it was to be a monster, he didn’t even know what his monster form looked like - as he was an unusually calm person and with Neptune, he seemed to be at ease almost all the time. 

 

As the cops had entered his dorm he couldn’t help but try to hide himself. This was to no avail, soon enough he was no longer considered a victim, but now a suspect as his eye clearly glowed. He was now cornered in his own room, by six to seven cops. This was when it all fell apart, Sun panicked. Neptune was nowhere to be found.

 

And so, Sun transformed into a monkey like creature with four arms, two tails, and two legs. He seemed to have shrunk, but only slightly. The cops didn’t even give him a chance as they appeared to be just a frightened as Sun was, so they began to open fire. Sun covered himself with his arms, and the bullets ricocheted off of an invisible barrier and straight back into two of the cops that were in the room. Immediately, the gunfire ceased and everyone backed off within an instant Sun seamlessly glided past them and out of the room. The other officers called for back up.

 

As he entered the hallway - he noticed how filled with his once friends, bystanders, and gawkers that were now all staring at him as flew past in his estranged form. Everything to him felt like slow motion as he now ran down the stairs and out the dormitory, it kind of sucked living on the third floor.

 

As he opened the door to the outside he was met by more cops, and an overhead helicopter that was shining its lights down on him.

 

“FREEZE. WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED.” called out one of the cops. “COME QUIETLY, AND WE PROMISE NO HARM WILL COME TO YOU.”

 

Sun looked around, panicked looking for his blue-haired boyfriend. Almost as if he had just sent out a search signal - Neptune had appeared next to one of the cops - who seemed to be making an agreement. Within an instant Neptune ran up to him, giving him a hug. This had calmed down Sun immensely. Making him feel human, once more.

 

“Are you okay?” Neptune kissed him in a hurried manner.

 

“I am now…” he paused. “I’m so sorry...so sorry..” he began to tear up. “I didn’t mean to get caught..”

 

“It’s not your fault, it isn’t. I’ll save you from this one way or another. I promise we’ll get through this.” Neptune assured him in front of the crowd.

 

Sun could feel the stares, he was a monster. But he didn’t want to be...all he wanted to be was a boy in love. 

 

“I promise.” Neptune reassured him once more, as Sun stayed sobbing, he miracoulously returned to human form. He rubbed his eyes. “I’m with you...I’m with you always, okay?” Sun nodded and grabbed his hand to hold. “Let’s go. I’m sure there will be a goo-”

 

A gunshot went off. Sniper. Time had seemed to pause once more. Sun turned and watched as Neptune had been shot in the face. Through his eye. Everything turned to slow motion once more - and instantly out of rage, confusion, sadness, and pain Sun transformed and let out a howling screech that seemed to break every window within 50 mile radius. 

 

Time had returned to its normal instance and everyone began to panic. Cops were now swarming - unsure of who had shot Neptune. The crowd was scattering. It was chaos. Sun looked around - looking for the attacker, but it was of no use. There was too much stimulation. Just too much. He looked down at Neptune who was now...dead. His lover. Shot down right next to him. He could feel the attacker smirking, looking down on him. They did this on purpose. Whoever it was. Sun wanted to escape. Sun wanted to die. But he stuck with the former rather than the latter and with another burst of rage he screeched, this time, it teleported him. Somewhere. Sun was unsure of how his powers worked, but he realized he was unlike the others he seen on the news. He could set up barriers, emit loud powerful screeches that not only break things, but can teleport him. He wondered what else he could do.

 

But right now, all he wanted to do was mourn as he had been transported behind an apartment complex, near the dumpsters. Just where he thought he belonged. In a matter of minutes to seconds, his life had been completely torn apart. Why him? Why this? Everything was so good..but good never lasts, does it? He went on a small rampage behind this complex. He was torn to pieces. The thought and image of Neptune being...killed would replay over and over in his head.

 

He climbed into the nearby dumpster - maybe he could die here, peacefully. But that didn’t seem likely as black car drove up to the dumpster. It’s almost as if they knew he was there. Maybe he would be put out of his misery and back with Neptune. That’s the best thing he could hope for.

 

Sun peeked out and a woman with long black hair approached him. 

 

He growled, “Go away. I can kill you.”

 

“I know you can Sun, but I’m here to help. My name is Blake Belladonna and I want to save you and your kind, but I need you to help me.”

 

Sun propped open the dumpster in a rage.

 

“Help me? I can’t even help my boyfriend! How can I help anyone!? Why the hell would anyone want to help me anyways?!” He spat out in a rage. “How did you even find me?!”

 

Blake pulled out a device. “This is a Monster Hunter device. It can recognize signals that come from monsters. Mostly distress signals. Your’s is pretty damn large.”

 

Sun look concerned.

 

“Don’t worry. I stole the only one that was working, but please, if we let this go on any longer you and every monster and their mate will be in danger. So please, just come with me.”

 

“Who are you?” Sun now stepped out of the trashcan.

 

“Someone’s who’s finally conscious about this whole damn ordeal.” Blake sighed, she looked a bit hesitant. She knew damn well she needed Sun on her side. She knew damn well, that she didn’t want to see this happen to anyone like Sun ever again. 

 

“You’re special Sun. You see, if  _ they  _ caught you...every one of your type would be in danger. I shouldn’t be able to even speak to you right now, most monsters can’t speak to humans, but you….you are a caliber above and beyond. Please Sun, we have to go. I don’t want this to happen again.”

 

Sun sighed. Where else did he have to go? He was alone. Besides he could probably get some answers from this girl. Even if it was a trap it’s not like he had anything to live for any longer.

 

“Fine.” Sun finally agreed. “But you have to tell me everything. Got it?” 

 

Blake nodded as the two entered her car.

 

“Well, I guess it all begins with the job I once had…”

  
  
  
  



	12. Heart to Heart

**[Mistral Elite Units]**

“Sir, are you sure we should be flying around this area.” ME04 asked her unit commander. “‘This isn’t our area…” She looked out the flyers window’s, and they were indeed not in their homeland.

She shut herself up as she noted the glare coming from Roman. The other units watched Roman carefully, he wasn’t in the mood to be tested today - and that was now clear as day.

“Emerald, when have you ever questioned where we should be going and what we should be doing?” Roman sneered at her. “Besides this involves them.” he turned to look at Neo, ME03, who was piloting “Take her down, Neo.” She nodded without a word and landed their flyer in a rather wooded area.

“All right, units. Today we will be scouting these areas. I’m sure there will be nothing that we should worry about, but just in case…” he grabbed the hanging assault rifles and tossed them to his standing units. “Brand new assault rifles. These bad boys are powered by dust. They pack a worse punch then bullets and they’re a lot more effective on slowing down monsters.” he smirked, “But like I said...it’s not like we’ll have to worry about it...today.”

“What are we looking for, sir?” ME02, otherwise known as Mercury asked as he stood attention, looking rather serious.

“Didn’t we already talk about the briefing?” Roman sighed.

“No sir.” Mercury quickly replied.

“Seriously?” Roman rolled his eyes and sighed once more. “Like I said, we’re scouting. For markings. Any sort of indication that they’re here. We...I mean, I recieved word that their main base is around this area. So there is a good chance they ARE here. We’re only a few days off the last known tracking. We need to see what we can find. Now, go.” He waved his hand as the back of the flyer finally opened.

In front of the Units was nothing but an empty roadway, and trees. Trees beyond the eye could see. It would make sense for monsters to hide in a forest.

“Reminds you of some kinda story book…” Emerald muttered as she and the others stepped out onto the roadway. Daylight shone from above. It would be obvious that they were here. She wondered just how well the Elite Units of Vale were watching. If it all. This wasn’t their territory, but as of late they’d been invaders to just about everywhere. They had even explored a little bit Yang Xiao Long’s hometown territory. The once well-renowned fighter was now labeled as a monster. Well, it was a fact at this point. Her reveal had been sprawled all over the news. So much potential gone to waste, due to the fact she was now a monster.

The elite units all scattered around the area. It mostly looked untouched. Mostly. ME02, Mercury noted tire tracks that seemed to lead into the forest, well, more like the trees. But this made no sense. “Em, come over here.” he squatted down touching the grass. They weren’t fresh tracks.

“Tire tracks?” Emerald walked over them and where they led. Directly into a tree. The tree wasn’t bent or broken in any way. Emerald walked around the tree and further into the forest. It looked like a plain old forest.

“You see anything?” Mercury called out to her as he continued to examine the markings. He could tell it came from some kind of truck. He turned his head and motioned to ME01, Christoph wandered over, his rifle still in hand. He had rather bad trigger discipline. “Get your hand off of the trigger. You might kill one of us.”

“I’m preparing for the worst.” He commented, not taking his hand off the trigger.

“We’re not going to be attacked. The monsters aren’t that reckless.” He stood up and looked behind Christoph, who was now accompanied by Neo and Roman.

“What do we have here?” Roman asked now taking his turn to squat, feeling the grass beneath him.

“Tire tracks. From a truck.” Mercury stated as a matter of fact like with another voice soon chiming in.

“But there seems to be no sign of anything else. The tracks stop at the base of this tree. Which as you can see is fine. No car accident here and there’s nothing beyond in the woods.” Emerald stepped out from behind the tree as she had just returned from her short trek around the woods. There really was nothing out here.

Roman smirked. “Thank you all for your hard work today. I think I got what I wanted. Everyone, back to the flyer. We’re done for today.”

The group, save for Neo, looked rather confused. They without question, returned to the Flyer and put away their weapons.

Emerald eyed Roman who was now on his scroll making a phone call. Yet, from where she stood she could not hear a damn thing.

“Roman, I do hope you’re calling about something important.” The feminine voice on the other side of the line answered.

“Cinder, now that you’re in the know about everything I think every phone call I make is important.” Roman took in his surroundings. “These monsters are a lot more powerful than we originally thought. Looks like they can use magic, illusions in this case.”

“Were the creators aware of these abilities?” Cinder asked.

“I don’t think so. But profit and power come in many way shapes and forms, but before that comes fear. Fear is the motivator for our profit and power.”

“So is blackmail.” Cinder responded in a confident manner.

“Cinder, it’s like you know me so well.” Roman grinned to himself. “We’ll discuss more of this later.” He clicked his scroll and shoved it in his pocket. He wore a cocky grin the whole time he walked to the flyer. You’d think it’d be easier to eliminate them, but I guess the longer we can draw this out the better we look and the dumber he looks.

“All right Neo, take us home.”

**[Yang & Weiss / Vale]**

Yang wasn’t used to having someone sleep by her side. Sure, she had Ruby sleep with her from time to time, but it was more of a ‘I’m having a nightmare’ situation more than a ‘There’s only one bed and we’re supposedly companions’ type of situation. So, here Yang was in bed with Weiss who was soundly asleep. Of course she didn’t have trouble sleeping at 2am in the morning. Why would she?

Several days had passed after the whole reveal. A virus had done this to her. An airborne virus, that probably has affected over millions. But why didn’t it affect everyone in the same way? Were some just naturally immune? Yang’s mind raced with these thoughts. Why her? Out of all people? Then again, when she thought of it she was glad it was her and not Ruby. Ruby...her heart ached at the thought of her. She wanted to call her and tell her everything was okay, but she couldn’t.

At least, at least she knew Ruby was safe. If anything, she was being hounded by reporters and all sorts of media. This would probably also bring her dad back from work, overseas. With all this big weird reveal, he probably knew that Ruby would be alone.

Yang continuously tossed and turned at her racing thoughts. She scrunched her eyes, hoping to just magically pass out. Her hands now covered both eyes, in another failed attempt.

“Yang?” a sleepy voice muttered out next to her.

Yang turned her head as her own lilac eyes met with icy blue ones - who by the looks of, was still in a rather sleepy state. Surprisingly, the two had remained at a respectable distance from one another as they slept on this particular night.

“What’s wrong?” Weiss yawned out. “I..I noticed you’ve been a little distant and quiet lately.”

Weiss had been right. Since the reveal, Yang was in a constant state of unsureness. She remembered being happy for the moment as they left the makeshift classroom, but as soon as they returned to their little home Yang didn’t know what she wanted. She was going to help out the rest of monsters, wasn’t she? Should she even call herself a monster? Were they a clan? A guild? A troupe? Yang wasn’t used to this, she wasn’t used to any of this.

She was to become a leader. A trainer in another aspect, but she had never personally trained anyone. Nor had she ever been trained herself. She thought back on her fighting. She was also self-taught and every moment of it felt so natural. She knew none of these kids. What they could do. Who they were. She hardly knew the girl she saved, Velvet.

Once again the room was filled with silence.

“Yaaangg..” Weiss called out, now rolling to her side and propping herself up to get a better look at the girl who seemed to be way out in outer space. At least, mentally.

Yang blinked several times, now returning to the present. She looked over at Weiss once more. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been...overthinking.”

“I can tell.” she bluntly stated.

“Did I wake you?” Yang asked, now covering her face with her arm.

“Oh, only a little. Y’know, all the tossing and turning is really good for the ambiance of sleep.”

“I’m sorry.” Yang repeated.

“Okay, for as little of time we’ve spent together I know you don’t say that word that often. Yang Xiao Long, you’re going to tell me what’s wrong this instance!” she grabbed Yang’s arm that was covering her face and tossed it aside to get a better look at Yang’s face even if it was in the dark. Weiss could tell that something was eating away at the brawler.

“All of this Weiss. Isn’t it a little too much?”

“Well, yes...in several ways. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it.” Weiss admitted.

“At least we’re on the same page.” Yang sighed and now turned to face Weiss, mimicking her position.

“I didn’t ask for this. I don’t know how to train people and I...I just can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that this? This is my reality now.”

“Yang, this is our reality now. You’re not alone, but you know that.”

“But you’re not a monster.” Yang interjected. Yang wondered why Weiss stuck around. Just because they were ‘connected’ in some weirdly fated fashion did not mean that Weiss had to stick around. Wasn’t she rich or some sort of heiress? Couldn’t she just leave them all behind and fly to some deserted island and live her life in peace? It sure seemed like the easiest thing to do at this point.

“I might not be, but there are others here who are and out of everyone here you’re the best fitted to lead them. To train them. To help them.” As Weiss spoke she removed a stray strand of hair from Yang’s face, her hand lightly caressed Yang’s cheek as she brought her hand back to neutral position at her side. Even with the light touch, Yang could feel the electricity between the two.

Yang almost forgot how good it felt to be connected in the weirdly fated fashion.

“Weiss, can I ask you something?” Yang brushed off the momentary feeling of wanting to reel Weiss in as she asked her this.

“Of course.”

“Why did you decide to come with me? You could’ve left as soon as I was safe. You had a choice.”

Weiss looked a little bewildered at the question. “No, I didn’t. You saved my life so I saved yours.”

“So you felt obligated to come with me? Out of what? Pity?” Yang’s voice rose a little more as she now sat up, Weiss soon followed the motion as she was now sitting up in bed facing Yang.

“W-what? Yang do you have to take everything so...wildly? No..let me explain.” Weiss paused. “Because I felt I had to. In my heart. It was like this was everything I ever wanted.”

“And your heart told you to do this? Sounds like...a real crappy reason.” Yang laughed and buried her face in her hands.

Yang’s sign of defeat was quickly pulled out from under her as Weiss grabbed her hand. Yang looked rather incredulously at the girl’s action. Yang’s hand was quickly shoved underneath Weiss’s shirt, out of Weiss’ own volition.

“W-What are you?” Yang began, but then quickly shut up. There was something about this that felt different and not in a sexual way. Yang’s hand was placed on Weiss’ heart. The “afflicted” area, she had heard some call it in the encampment. Weiss’s face was stern and unwavering as she stared down Yang.

The was an incredible amount of warmth and...safety that engulfed the palm of Yang. The feeling didn’t stop there as it coursed through her whole body, filling her with these intense emotions. It was when the feeling hit her own heart the she was now completely overcome and overwhelmed with what this ‘connection’ was.

This was an unspeakable feeling. A feeling that could only be shared with touch. A feeling that could calm a raging beast or a storm that wanted to destroy everything and anything in its path. The fact, that it was in the most cliche spot for her and Weiss was what really made Yang feel alive.

The beating of the heart along with the unspeakable feeling was like a combo attack. The longer Yang’s hand stayed, the more she could recognize Weiss’s heartbeat and the rise and fall of Weiss’s chest as she breathed softly.

After a bit Yang removed her hand from underneath Weiss’s shirt. She now understood that they both needed each other in ways that they didn’t understand. An osmosis of knowledge had just formed through that small moment in time. That was the way of the Monsters and their Mates. The mates were much more than placeholders or tamers. So much more.

They stared at each other momentarily. Before Yang broke the silence. “That was...different.”

“It is...and it’s different for me. That feeling that you just got? It’s how I feel now all the time...and ever since I met you it’s just been growing. Our afflicted areas are a sign of kinship. We’re two different people, but we’re still one.” Weiss had seemed to become more philosophical as the days had passed. Yang wondered if it was just a side-effect, but she didn’t mind. She needed the girls steady, calm, cool and collected head if she was going to do all of this and she knew that.

Yang knew, that on her side of the bargain she was much more primal and she could feel that growing within her own heart. She was always a wild-child to begin with, even before the incident. But this just made things more complicated.

“Thank you Weiss.” Yang stated.

“You’re very welcome.” Weiss smirked, now reverting to her cocky princess like attitude. Weiss had immediately slipped back under the covers and turned her back towards Yang, feeling pretty smug about herself. Weiss herself, wondered when she would be able to bring Yang home...to meet her two best friends. If that was even a possibility at this point, Weiss didn’t know, but she sure damned hope so.  
She could just imagine the look of jealousy on Jaune when she brought back Yang. She also wondered how Pyrrha and Jaune’s relationship was panning out. Though she didn’t have time to think about their relationship when she had a rather complicated one of her own.

It’s not like her and Yang had…

“Weiss?”

Weiss turned her head and noticed Yang was cuddled up close to her. When did this happen? She also noted that Yang’s face was suspiciously close to hers. It wasn’t until their lips met, that Weiss had finally realized what was happening.

Scratch that, her and Yang had finally kissed.

Weiss wrapped her arms around Yang’s neck to deepen the kiss. Yang had to prop herself up with on hand on right side of Weiss’s head while the other hand tangled itself in her hair. It was a sudden gesture for Yang, and well, Weiss too. Yang positioned herself on top of Weiss, straddling her ever so carefully. Yang took control - though this came to a surprise to her. She would’ve thought that Weiss would’ve fought for some sort of dominance.

This gesture by Yang was certainly welcomed by Weiss nonetheless. Weiss was willing to submit to almost anything Yang had offered and she wouldn’t have minded if they continued all night but...Yang pulled away and rested her forehead on Weiss’s. The two had to catch their breath for the new and welcoming experience. Yang inhaled and could smell the scent of arousal coming off of Weiss - it was faint, but Yang was glad she ended the kissing there. Yang was familiar with intimacy in a previous fling she had before. Of course, there could be and was primal aspect towards it, well, at least for Yang. But she didn’t know how this version of herself would take to such an act - if...if they were to do it all. Sex, that is. Something told her it would be dangerous, not for her, but for Weiss.

Before Weiss could speak and draw her out of her thoughts, Yang was the first to say something. Her forehead, still resting on Weiss’s own. “That was another thank you from me. I told you before if you kept talking dirty like that you’d get more.” Yang teased.

“It’s a good thing I like you, you big oaf.” Weiss glared at her. Though, in Weiss’s heart she was as giddy as one could be with their first, ever, official kiss.

Yang smiled widely and removed herself from the smaller girl. She now placed herself up against Weiss as she laid next to her. Weiss turned to face her and it was very apparent to Yang that she wanted something before they went to bed.

Yang gladly pressed her lips against Weiss’s one last time which Weiss happily met her. Again, Yang pulled away.  
“Goodnight Weiss.” Yang said as she stretched her arm over Weiss and pulled her in. Completely removing any space between them.

“Goodnight Yang.” Weiss, being smaller nestled her head in the crook of Yang’s neck and pressed up against her.

As they both fell asleep, the afflicted areas filled both of their bodies with warmth. Their connected bodies made this feeling stronger, and with that they both fell into a very deep and restful sleep.

**///**

“She’s late.” Coco muttered as she fast walked towards the Xiao-Long Schnee household. Her fast walk usually meant business and Velvet knew better than to step in a try and slow her down. She'd probably be mowed over. Dang raid leaders.

Afterall, today was the day that Yang Xiao Long would begin training the underlings of their little clan. As Yang, would take over the Guardians along with the Berserkers with Velvet as representative to overlook them.

“I have a feeling Yang is the type to sleep in.” Velvet kept her pace with Coco as she commented.

Coco banged on their door, and after a few seconds decided to invade their privacy as she let herself in. It was known that the houses had no locks. This may have been a community of misfits, but they could be trusted. There were also other factors playing into this, but trust and honesty was what made this home for all of them.

Without wasting anytime, Coco made beeline for their bedroom. She didn’t care if they were naked, sleeping, or making love she would make sure that Yang Xiao Long would be up and ready for class - as Yang was the professor after all. Velvet hopped along behind Coco. She knew better than to stop the girl in charge.

She swiftly opened the door and yelled “Yang Xiao Long!”.

Yang jumped out of bed, as if they were in danger and went into her natural fighting stance. Weiss had glided out of bed following behind Yang. Yang was still half-asleep and unsure of what’s going on.

“Coco? Velvet?” Weiss yawned. She rubbed her eyes for a better look and it was indeed the duo that had barged their way into their household. “What are you...Oh my..” she face-palmed herself suddenly remembering what day it was and that they probably had overslept.

Yang was still stuck in her fighting position as she struggled to wake up properly. “Are we being invaded?” she stood her ground and looked around now trying to make herself fully alert.

“No, you dolt.” Weiss put a hand on Yang’s shoulder as a way to tell her to stand down. “We’re late. For _your_ lesson.”

“Lesson..” she began to trail off as she repeated the word needlessly. She snapped her fingers together and widened her eyes when she finally remembered. “Ahh..whoops.” she scratched behind her head.

“We need to be there in twenty minutes or else we’ll be late.” Coco added, now tapping on a rather fancy wrist watch she had on.

“All right. I just need to get dressed.” Yang now turned to the dresser where she shuffled through to find something acceptable to wear.

“Sorry about that, you guys. Once Coco starts she can’t really stop.” Velvet commented as she watched Yang and Weiss go through their things.

“It wouldn’t happen if Yang would stick to the plans.” Coco muttered as she was now slowly being pulled out of the room by Velvet.

“We’ll get out of your hair and meet you there, all right? Don’t be late.” Velvet smiled closing the door behind her.

“DON’T BE LATE.” Coco reiterated as the door closed behind them.

“Coco is a lot scarier than I thought...and I thought Velvet was the monster.” Yang laughed as she finally pulled out a tank top. She was going to be a teacher, but she saw no need to overdo it. After all...all these kids were either her age or possibly younger. She didn’t see anyone that seemed too much older than her if at all.

“Probably didn’t help we stayed up until 2 am talking and…” Weiss remembered what had happened that night. She turned a rather light shade of pink.

“Making out?” Yang grinned as she raised an eyebrow at the smaller girl.

“It was nothing more than a heart to heart.” Weiss turned around to dress herself now with a rather plain looking outfit that fit her white aesthetic. Coco knew them well, a little too well.

“More like mouth to mouth!” Yang at this point had already turned around to get dressed as well. The two girls were now back to back with a respectable distance between them.

“Yang!” Weiss flailed her arm behind her lightly hitting the blonde guardian.

“Heh, don’t be so cold.” Yang added as she was being lightly tapped.  
Weiss was in the process of doing it once more, to deter the girl but was grabbed and pulled in by the stronger and taller Yang Xiao Long. Yang now embraced Weiss in a one-sided hug.

“Let go of me!”

“Back to being icy, huh?”

“Now’s not the time we’re going to be late!” she shoved the taller girl towards the door as Yang still had her arms - now walking backwards.

“Y’know, I hope they’re all ready for the GREAT DRAGON PROFESSOR!” Yang loudly proclaimed as she was shoved out the door of the bedroom.

Weiss rolled her eyes as she continued to shove Yang in this awkward, yet endearing positioning. It’s not like Weiss minded in all honesty, but she still wasn’t 100% used to Yang although they WERE connected.

It would take more than one heart to heart conversation to unlock their full potential, but for now…

They had other matters to attend to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm wondering if anyone still reads this. I'm kind of interested and looking for someone to help me along with the story? A beta reader if you will. I want to improve my writing, be able to write down the entirety of this story to its actual completion with some help by someone! Also, I may want to rewrite the previous chapters to word them better! I will tell you everything about this world and what I expect from myself. I feel like I have poor execution! I'm also a horrible procrastinator, whoops! Anyways, hit me up on tumblr - Shaevira if you might be interested or want to discuss the story.


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